FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 7, 2006
Contact:  Jon Niven 
(202) 225-3772
 
Ross Introduces Legislation to Address Needs of 21 Hospitals in Rural Arkansas
 
(Washington, D.C.) U.S. Representative Mike Ross (AR-04) today joined Reps. Walden (OR) and Pomeroy (ND) to introduce the Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act (H-CARE). This important bill makes several improvements to help rural healthcare providers address the challenges associated with delivering quality healthcare close to home.

 

“H-CARE is comprehensive legislation that will help stabilize our nation’s rural health care infrastructure and correct deficiencies that jeopardize vulnerable rural health care systems nationwide,” Congressman Ross said. “This bill will help to put our rural health care providers on an equal playing field. It would remove barriers facing rural Americans who already have to travel several hours to get to their nearest health care facility. In addition, rural residents are often forced to deal with the ever-growing shortage of practitioners and often inadequate reimbursement rates to rural hospitals.”

 

Ross pointed to key provisions of the H-CARE bill he said would help rural health care providers. It would authorize a loan program to rural hospitals for capital improvement projects and increase payments to rural hospitals who take on the burden of a disproportionate share of Medicare and Medicaid patients. It would also authorize health information technology grants for rural practitioners including physicians practicing in physician scarcity areas, rural ambulance providers, rural home health agencies and rural hospitals.

 

“In my hometown of Prescott our local hospital closed in 1995. This is something I would not wish on any community,” Congressman Ross said. “This is why I am proud to introduce legislation that would improve 21 rural hospitals in Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District.”

 

Congressman Ross is a member of the Rural Health Care Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

“This legislation is one of many common sense steps I will continue to fight for to ensure everyone has access to quality health care, no matter where they live,” Ross says.

 

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