American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman recently praised the Rural Hospital Access Act (S. 2620) in a letter to the bill’s authors, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The bill will increase the availability of health care programs and professionals in rural communities across the country.
“There is a critical shortage of health care facilities and qualified health care professionals in rural communities,” Stallman wrote on Friday. “In addition, many rural residents depend on small, rural hospitals that face unique health care delivery challenges due to their size and type of patients.”
The bill will reauthorize the Medicare Dependent Hospital and Low-Volume Hospital programs, which are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2012.