[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 30 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S2152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RURAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ACT

 Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity and make a few comments about a bill that my colleague, 
Senator Max Baucus introduced yesterday. The bill, known as the Rural 
Health Improvement Act, is designed to help struggling, small, rural 
hospitals across America.
  I am pleased to join Senator Baucus as an original cosponsor of this 
important bill. It will go a long way in helping people served by rural 
facilities.
  As cochairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, I have worked long 
and hard to ensure rural families have access to quality care. This is 
an issue that concerns not just a select few, but all Senators because 
every State has at lease some low-population areas.
  Unfortunately, too many of our small hospitals are confronted with 
the decision of having to close because they can no longer contend with 
declining inpatient stays, costly regulations, and low Medicare 
reimbursement rates. However, closing hospitals is not an acceptable 
option in Wyoming. In my State, if a town loses its most important 
point of service--the emergency reoom--it is typical for patients to 
drive 100 miles or more to the closest tertiary care center.
  With the Medicare trust fund going broke, it also is understood that 
underutilized facilities cannot continue to be subsidized. However, an 
alternative must still be available. That is why it is necessary to 
give small rural hospitals the ability to downsize without having to 
maintain a full-service operation.
  Mr. President, the Rural Health Improvement Act allows facilities to 
reconfigure their service and reduce excess bed capacity while 
retaining access to emergency care. In short, the bill presents 
communities with a viable option. It accommodates different levels of 
medical care throughout a State while providing stabilization services 
needed in remote areas.
  The bill is one in a series of measures the Rural Health Caucus is 
working on designed to improve quality medical care in rural America. 
It is similar to legislation I introduced as a Member of the House of 
Representatives, and I look forward to working with Senator Baucus to 
pass this important, bipartisan piece of legislation.

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