Congressman Jim Marshall Helps Defeat Attempt to Cut Funding for Rural Hospitals

For Immediate Release
November 17, 2005
Contact: Douglas Moore
(202) 225-6531
404-433-5561 - cell

Congressman Jim Marshall Helps Defeat Attempt to Cut Funding for Rural Hospitals

(Washington, D.C.) –A battle is brewing in Washington over funding for rural health care. In the first skirmish of what may be a long campaign, rural health care advocates joined with others to soundly defeat, by a vote of 209-224, the Fiscal Year 2006 Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Conference Report, which would have cut rural health care funding.

“We won a battle today, but the war continues,” said Marshall. “I expect this bill will return once the House leadership thinks it has enough votes to pass it.”

Congressman Jim Marshall joined the National Rural Health Association and the National Association of Rural Health Clinics in opposing the cuts to rural health care. “These cuts would directly affect rural hospitals and rural EMS,” said Marshall. “And I’ve made my opposition clear. We need to improve rural health care, not weaken it.”

The adoption of the FY '06 Labor-HHS Conference Report would have resulted in:

Closure of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, which researches solutions to the problems facing rural health provides offers federal grants to rural hospitals.
Eliminates funding for the Community Access Program (CAP) – which funds to the Community Health Works program in Monroe County.
Elimination of the Rural EMS grant program – cutting funding which helps keep rural ambulance service operating.
Closure of the Rural Assistance Center – which helps rural communities address health care funding needs. Last year it handled over 150,000 inquiries from rural communities and individuals.
Closure of the 8 Rural Health Research Centers (Georgia is served by the office in North Carolina) that gather data and issue reports to Congress. These reports assist Congress in making informed decisions about reimbursement for health care in rural areas – an issue of great importance given the challenges rural hospitals are facing in receiving continued funds the Indigent Care Trust Fund.
Severe reductions in the Rural Outreach Grant and Rural Community Access to Emergency Devices programs that have helped stabilize health care delivery in hundreds of rural communities and make necessary life saving equipment available in small rural towns. This program offers funding for innovative programs and to assist rural hospitals in purchasing medical equipment.

“We could lose this battle tomorrow. But we’re going to keep fighting to protect access to health care until we secure victory. Anyone worried about health care should join this fight,” said Marshall.

With the defeat of the Labor-HHS conference report, the House of Representatives is expected to propose a year-long continuing resolution to keeping funding for rural hospitals at current levels through the 2006 fiscal year. There is some indication, however, that the leadership of the House of Representatives might bring this legislation back in the near future.