This week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) unveiled new, bipartisan legislation to help rural Americans have better access to healthcare. Joined by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sen. Hawley hosted a press conference introducing the Rural Hospital Emergency Room Guarantee Act, saying: “This bipartisan legislation provides federal funding directly to rural emergency rooms, helping them keep their doors open and also preserving these lifelines for millions of Americans living in rural communities nationwide.” If adopted, the bill would:

• Create a dedicated, ten-year funding stream for rural emergency rooms;
• Provide eligible rural hospitals a baseline distribution of $1,000,000 per year to support emergency room operating expenses.
  • Additional funding would be available based on each hospital’s specific geographic, “patient-injury” and financial characteristics.
• Extend one-time emergency payments of up to $250,000 to any participating rural hospital in risk of immediate closure.
• Allow rural hospitals to receive this funding without negatively impacting their eligibility for other federal health care programs, designations, grants or funding.