Congress extends rural Medicare fix

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Congress extends rural Medicare fix

Associated Press via Casper Star Tribune

October 1, 2003

Rural hospitals will receive higher Medicare payments for six months under legislation that extends a temporary fix approved earlier this year.

The measure includes a total of about $617,000 for almost all Wyoming hospitals, Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., announced Wednesday.

It equalizes for six months the rate at which rural and urban hospitals are paid for treating patients on Medicare, the federal health care program for seniors.

Congress approved a similar measure in February. The latest extends the change for another six months.

Lawmakers from rural states want permanent changes to the payment rates to be part of comprehensive Medicare overhauls being considered by Congress.

They argue that the rates were set when lawmakers thought it was cheaper to practice medicine in small towns than in cities, something administrators and lawmakers in rural states say is no longer true.