Sample Letter in Support of H.R. 2957, the Save Rural Hospitals Act

(Your letterhead)

Dear [Member of Congress]:

On behalf of [yourself or organization], I strongly urge the [state] Congressional Delegation to support H.R.2957, the Save Rural Hospital Act. This critically important bill will stop the flood of rural hospital closures that is occurring nationwide and ensure needed access to care for rural [state]and other rural Americans.

Seventy-nine rural hospitals have closed and counting. An additional 673 facilities are vulnerable to closure—this represents more than one-third of rural hospitals in the U.S. In fact, the rate of closure has steadily increased since sequester and bad debt cuts began to hit rural hospitals, resulting in a rate five times higher in 2016 compared to 2010. Continued cuts in hospital payments have taken their toll, forcing far too many closures. Medical deserts are appearing across rural America, leaving many of our nation’s most vulnerable populations without timely access to care and causing the economies of rural communities to erode.

H.R. 2957 will stabilize rural hospitals by providing common-sense regulatory relief and stopping the many cuts in Medicare that are causing ruralclosures. Additionally, it will create an innovativedelivery model that will ensure emergency access to care for rural patients across the nation.Keeping rural hospitals open makes fiscal sense. Critical access hospitals make up nearly 25 percent of acute care hospitals but receive less than 5 percent of total Medicare payments to hospitals. CMS actually spends 2.5 percent less on rural beneficiaries than it does on urban beneficiaries. Additionally, rural health care canrepresent as much as 20 percent of the local economy, and rural hospitals are often one of the two largest employers in a ruralcounty. The average critical access hospital alone creates 170 jobs andgenerates $7.1 million in wages,salaries, and benefits annually.

Rural hospitals are critical to 62 million rural Americans. Rural Medicare beneficiaries already face anumber of challenges when trying to access health care services close to home. Seventy-seven percent of rural counties in the United States are primary care health professional shortage areas, while 9 percent have no physicians at all. Rural seniors are forced to travel significant distances for care,especially specialty services. Additionally, rural populations as a whole are more likely to beunderinsured or uninsured, be poorer than their urban counterparts, and experience more chronic disease.

Rural America can’t afford these closures. Please save rural hospitals by supporting H.R. 2957.

Sincerely,

[Your name or organization]