Rural Hospitals Could Lose Reimbursement Money In Proposed Federal Budget

U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, is calling on fellow lawmakers to save a federal subsidy for rural hospitals from President Barack Obama’s budget ax.

The “Critical Access Hospital” designation was created in 1997 as a way to keep small, rural hospitals from closing by giving higher reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Obama’s proposed federal budget bans certain hospitals from getting the designation, and reduces reimbursement rates.

The changes could save around $2 billion, but Duffy said the change would hurt rural patients.

“If you actually look at the cost of these patients traveling longer distances and the degradation of their status and the quality of care that they’ll receive, I think we’d be hard-pressed to say that we’re actually saving money,” Duffy said.

Wisconsin has 58 Critical Access Hospitals that serve around 380,000 people annually.