Kansas congressman Jake LaTurner has introduced a bill that would allow previously closed rural hospitals to re-open and apply for a designation to help them continue to serve their communities.
The Rural Emergency Hospital Adjustment Act would create a designation of Rural Emergency Hospitals. Previously closed hospitals can apply for the designation and if they meet the eligibility requirements, they can re-open their emergency and outpatient operations.
The designation will allow certain hospitals to convert to the new Medicare provider designation, which would allow rural hospitals to continue operating with limited services. Hospitals are only eligible for the designation if they met the requirements when the legislation was signed into law on December 27th, 2020. LaTurner’s bill would extend the eligibility date to January 1st, 2015, for hospitals that were either critical access hospitals or rural hospitals with no more than 50 beds. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
