Date: March 18, 2022
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) warn they will no longer be able to bill Medicare for telehealth services when the public health emergency ends after they were excluded from a $1.5 trillion spending bill the House recently passed. “Leaving CAHs out of the legislation, in our opinion, is just going to hurt rural care disproportionately,” says NRHA’s Josh Jorgensen. “There’s been a large recognition amongst policymakers that telehealth is a good thing and they want to see it advance, which is why it was included in this package. But unfortunately, we’re leaving out a provider type and it’s going to cause an interruption of services.” Additionally, NRHA recently issued a statement regarding the Senate’s recent passage of a $1.5 billion omnibus spending package and how it could impact rural health. Interested in advocating on behalf of rural health? Sign up to participate in NRHA’s rural health advocacy campaigns, and be sure to review NRHA’s updated advocacy 101 guide.