Increased financial support for small rural hospitals under Medicare.
This Act aims to boost the financial stability of small rural hospitals, specifically Sole Community Hospitals and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals. The changes allow these facilities to recalculate their Medicare payments using more recent cost data from 2016, which typically results in higher reimbursements. Citizens in rural areas benefit from the increased likelihood that these essential healthcare providers will remain open and continue offering necessary medical services.
Key points
Payment Recalculation: Rural hospitals (Sole Community Hospitals and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals) can rebase their Medicare payments using 2016 cost data if it results in a higher payment amount.
Financial Stability: The new payment rules take effect starting October 1, 2025, aiming to provide greater financial stability for healthcare facilities in rural areas.
Program Extensions: The Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) program and the increased payments under the Medicare low-volume hospital program are extended for subsequent fiscal years.
Funding Protection: For the newly rebased payments, the government is prohibited from making certain retroactive adjustments that would reduce these amounts based on data prior to October 1, 2015.
Introduced
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