ICMYI: Torres Small and Hagedorn Lead Bipartisan Calls Urging Administration to Deliver More Money to Rural Hospitals

Las Cruces, N.M. – Last week, Congresswoman Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02) and Jim Hagedorn (MN-1) led 32 colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to allocate at least 20% of the $75 billion for health providers in the interim relief package, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, to rural providers.

“Our rural hospitals and clinics are acutely vulnerable to the costs of COVID-19.  Providers across New Mexico are fighting the virus with less resources and available beds, all while simultaneously battling to just keep their doors open. As COVID-19 begins to reach some rural areas at alarming rates, we must ensure that rural health providers have the resources they need to not only serve rural patients but also to stay in business in the long run,” said Torres Small. “I’m pleased and applaud the Administration for setting aside $10 billion in CARES Act relief for rural hospitals. Today, I stand with my colleagues and urge the Administration to do right by our rural communities again and set aside at least 20% of the $75 billion from the interim relief package to our rural providers.”

“Rural medical providers and our incredible healthcare professionals have made enormous sacrifices, financial and otherwise, to prepare for and fight the spread of COVID-19. We in southern Minnesota are incredibly fortunate to have so many outstanding rural hospitals and medical institutions. I encourage HHS to allocate the necessary funding to preserve our rural hospitals and maintain timely, quality care for all Americans,” said Hagedorn.

Torres Small, Hagedorn, and the Members detailed the unprecedented financial challenges many rural hospitals and clinics across the country continue to face and stressed the importance of funding to ensure hospitals can treat patients. While the Members thanked the Department of Health and Human Services for reserving $10 billion from the CARES Act to rural providers, they acknowledged the unprecedented strain and called for further action:

“The outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. comes at a time in which rural hospitals and clinics are increasingly vulnerable to closures. Prior to the outbreak, one in five rural hospitals was at risk of closure.  Now, facing losses at times larger than half of monthly expected revenues due to the postponement of elective surgeries and increased operating costs, hundreds of rural hospitals are on the brink of closure. This unprecedented strain on the American health care system has pushed the already razor-thin budgets of many rural hospitals and clinics to the point of financial insolvency,” wrote the Members.

The Members continued: “On top of the financial crisis facing rural providers, experts project that the epidemiological peak of COVID-19 for rural areas will occur later than peaks in large urban centers.  Rural hospitals and clinics, which are already feeling the strain of this public health crisis, will likely face an influx of positive cases as the rest of the country begins flattening the curve. Equitable funding for rural clinics and hospitals is crucial to their ability to respond, especially considering rural patients are on average older and more likely to have comorbidities than their urban counterparts.”

In addition to Torres Small and Hagedorn, the letter was signed by Representatives Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Steve King (IA-04), Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), Bruce Westerman, P.E. (AR-04), Collin C. Peterson (MN-07), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Don Young (AK-At Large), André Carson (IN-07), Andy Harris (MD-01), Ann McLane Kuster (NM-02), Steve Stivers (OH-15), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Jim Costa (CA-16), TJ Cox (CA-21), David Trone (MD-06), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Josh Harder (CA-10), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), and Kendra S. Horn (OK-05).

The full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Azar,

We write to thank you for your leadership in ensuring that $10 billion of the $100 billion allocated for healthcare providers by the CARES Act is distributed to rural hospitals and clinics. We ask that you build upon this commitment to rural communities by allocating at least 20% of the $75 billion appropriated to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund by the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act to rural providers. Given the financial challenges facing rural hospitals and clinics across the country, this funding is essential to ensure our rural health care providers are able to continue treating patients.

The $10 billion in CARES Act set aside for rural providers will go a long way in alleviating the current financial strain. However, given the scale of current losses, we are concerned that this allocation will not be enough to meet the needs of rural healthcare facilities. $10 billion, in addition to the amounts provided to rural providers in the earlier rounds of payments, is less than 20% of all funding allocated to healthcare providers in the CARES Act, and as you know, roughly 20% of the U.S. population lives in a rural area. This allocation is not only disproportional to the population it serves, it is also insufficient to address the significant revenue loss that rural providers are facing due to the suspension of non-emergency care, and the increased costs they will incur when the virus reaches its epidemiological peak.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. comes at a time in which rural hospitals and clinics are increasingly vulnerable to closures. Prior to the outbreak, one in five rural hospitals was at risk of closure. Now, facing losses at times larger than half of monthly expected revenues due to the postponement of elective surgeries and increased operating costs, hundreds of rural hospitals are on the brink of closure. This unprecedented strain on the American health care system has pushed the already razor-thin budgets of many rural hospitals and clinics to the point of financial insolvency.

On top of the financial crisis facing rural providers, experts project that the epidemiological peak of COVID-19 for rural areas will occur later than peaks in large urban centers. Rural hospitals and clinics, which are already feeling the strain of this public health crisis, will likely face an influx of positive cases as the rest of the country begins flattening the curve. Equitable funding for rural clinics and hospitals is crucial to their ability to respond, especially considering rural patients are on average older and more likely to have comorbidities than their urban counterparts.

In light of these concerns, we ask that HHS set aside at least 20% of the funding allocated to healthcare providers in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act for rural facilities. In America, a zip code should not determine one’s ability to access high quality health care—especially at a time when access to care can be a matter of life or death. Allocating an adequate and proportional amount directly to rural areas would help ensure equity in the distribution of this federal aid.

On behalf of the 60 million Americans currently living in rural areas, thank you for your consideration and attention to the survival of rural hospitals and clinics.

Sincerely,

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