Jenkins Introduces Legislation Aimed at Assisting Rural Hospitals

Press Release

Today Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced H.R. 5678, the Rural Emergency Medical Center (REMC) Act. The REMC Act will establish a rural designation under the Medicare Program to allow certain rural hospitals to convert to a 24/7 emergency medical center.

"Ensuring access to health care in our rural communities has always been a priority of mine in Congress," said Representative Jenkins. "Rural hospitals often face a unique set of challenging circumstances and this bi-partisan legislation will work to accommodate those challenges and continue to protect patient access to essential health care services in our communities."

Why the REMC Act is needed:

The future of rural health care includes "right-sizing" the health care infrastructure and services to better align with the needs of communities and to keep pace with the transformation of health care delivery.

With so many rural hospitals in recent years closing down, it is clear the current model does not work in certain vulnerable rural communities. The establishment of a rural emergency medical center (REMC) designation under the Medicare program would help ensure patients in rural communities maintain access to essential emergency and outpatient services, while providing enhanced transportation to inpatient hospitals.

The REMC Act would enable certain rural hospitals to protect access to essential health care services in the community. In addition to emergency services, REMCs would provide the type of services a hospital delivers on an outpatient basis to Medicare beneficiaries, including observation, diagnostic and telehealth services. REMCs could also provide post-acute care in a separately licensed skilled nursing facility unit.

Regulatory burdens and remote locations, among many other factors, have all been challenges of hospitals in small rural towns. In the past Congress created special rural payment programs and designations to help account for these challenges, however many have either expired or not kept pace with changes in rural communities or health care delivery. For example, many services that used to require inpatient care are now provided in the outpatient setting; yet federal payment continues to incentivize inpatient, fee-for-service care.

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