Two senators are proposing a bipartisan solution to improve access to end-of-life care for seniors in such rural areas, after a wave of hospital closures in rural areas.
The bill from Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., would boost hospice care in rural areas. The senators say there is a disparity when it comes to hospice care, and cited a government report that found just 32 percent of eligible seniors in rural areas used hospice care, compared to 48 percent in urban areas.
“People in the final stages of life should have access to the compassionate care that hospice provides regardless of where they live,” Capito said in a statement.
The bill aims to let seniors chose their primary doctor for hospice care.
“When patients enroll in hospice, they select a physician or nurse practitioner to serve as their attending physician,” a press release from the senators said. “Unlike other services, rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers cannot bill Medicare under Part B for hospice, which prevents some patients from receiving care from their trusted primary care physician.”
The bill would provide a technical fix that allows rural health clinics and centers to receive payment for physician services in hospice care, expanding use of the service.
Rural healthcare has been hurting in recent years due to numerous hospital closures. A 2014 study for the National Rural Health Association found 283 rural hospitals on the brink of closure.
Nearly 60 rural hospitals have closed down since 2010 due to financial challenges, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.
