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HYDE-SMITH WELCOMES THE INCLUSION OF THREE MISS. HOSPITALS IN RURAL DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM
Greenwood, Magee & Wayne Hospitals Chosen for CMS Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program, Improved Federal Reimbursements
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) issued the following statement regarding the approval for Greenwood Leflore Hospital (GLH), Magee General Hospital, and Wayne General Hospital to participate in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD) program through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, a development for which she, U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and other congressional delegation members have fought for.
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“We’ve worked very hard for years to give these hospitals greater federal support to ensure that they stay open to serve rural Mississippians. It hasn’t been easy, but being part of the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program will allow them to receive more beneficial reimbursements, which is important to keeping their doors open,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). “I am very pleased that Greenwood Leflore, Magee General, and Wayne General have an opportunity to be part of this program.”
In early March, Hyde-Smith and Wicker sent a letter to CMS strongly supporting Greenwood Leflore’s RCHD application, in which they argued why Greenwood Leflore deserved a spot within the program. It concluded, “This program will have a tremendous impact on the health and well-being of the community and on the Mississippi Delta.” Hyde-Smith also sent a letter in March in support of Magee General Hospital’s application, and has long supported Wayne General Hospital’s inclusion in the program as well.
Rural Community Hospital Demonstration program is to test the feasibility and advisability of cost-based reimbursement for small rural hospitals that are too large to be Critical Access Hospitals. Hyde-Smith and U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have criticized CMS refusal to fully utilize the budget-neutral RCHD program despite its proven efficacy for participating rural hospitals and qualifying facilities’ interest in joining.
All three hospitals’ enrollment in the RCHD program requires CMS receiving a signed Participation Agreement within 30 days.
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