Vol. 68, Issue 19
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IN THIS ISSUE
- New AHA Report - Economic Pressures Facing Hospitals Threaten Access to Care
- Guest Column: The Disruptors Are Getting Disrupted — 5 Takeaways
- Gov. Evers Celebrates Wisconsin Hospitals in National Hospital Week Proclamation
- House Committee Advances Key Health Care Extensions
- Wisconsin Quality Residency 2024-2025 Kickoff on May 8
- Deadline this Week - WHA Foundation 2024 Clinical Simulation Lab Scholarship Application
EDUCATION EVENTS
Apr. 9, 2025
2025 Advocacy DayApr. 22, 2025
Nursing ServicesMay. 14, 2025
2025 WHA Workforce ForumClick here to view quality event calendar
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Thursday, May 9, 2024
House Committee Advances Key Health Care Extensions
On May 8, the House Committee on Ways and Means advanced legislation during a markup that would fund several WHA federal health care priorities for extensions needed at the end of the year, including:
Congress is not expected to act on these health care items until a larger package develops after the November elections during the lame duck session. While there is a long road ahead before that time, this legislation will serve as an important marker in the House as negotiations develop later in the year to fund these priorities. WHA will keep up advocacy efforts in the meantime.
In addition to these priorities, the committee also advanced legislation that would:
- Continued Medicare coverage of telehealth extensions for 2 additional years (through the end of 2026).
- The Acute Hospital Care at Home (Hospital at Home) program for 5 additional years (through the end of 2029).
- Medicare-Dependent and Low-Volume Hospital Adjustment programs for 9 additional months through 9/30/25 (the end of the next fiscal year).
Congress is not expected to act on these health care items until a larger package develops after the November elections during the lame duck session. While there is a long road ahead before that time, this legislation will serve as an important marker in the House as negotiations develop later in the year to fund these priorities. WHA will keep up advocacy efforts in the meantime.
In addition to these priorities, the committee also advanced legislation that would:
- Provide cost-based reimbursement to ambulance services operated by critical access hospitals that exist under the 15-mile mountainous terrain or secondary roads criteria.
- Authorize grants for financially challenged rural hospitals for the purpose of minor renovations, care delivery training, staff hiring and retention, and equipment acquisition.
- Ensure that 10 percent of the recently approved 1,200 additional Medicare GME slots go to truly rural hospitals, and not hospitals that are reclassified as rural hospitals.
- Move back the eligibility date for a closed hospital to convert to a rural emergency hospital from December 27, 2020 to January 1, 2014.
- Allow nursing homes that have received citations and civil monetary penalties above a certain amount to continue offering a certified nurse aide (CNA) training program so long as the citations are for reasons unrelated to direct resident care.