Lawmakers oppose proposed rule's restriction on critical access hospitals

More than 75 House and Senate members oppose a provision in the proposed inpatient rule for fiscal year 2006 that would prevent most critical access hospitals from rebuilding their facilities more than 250 yards from their current location. In recent letters to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan, the 62 representatives and 17 senators said the "arbitrary" restriction could jeopardize the critical access status that enables these hospitals to maintain essential services for rural Americans. "As communities around the country will attest, CAH has literally been a lifesaving designation for rural towns," the representatives said, adding that many are located on small campuses with no room to expand. The senators said the provision "should be replaced with a more flexible rule that allows hospitals to modernize." The letters will be available soon on the AHA Web site. The AHA also opposed the relocation provision in a recent comment letter to CMS. (via AHA News)