CAHs Successfully Stop Cuts to Swing Beds

Efforts by the CAH Coalition to stop the proposed cuts to swing-bed reimbursement rates were successful as Congress passed their new budget, which included Medicare extenders, early this morning. The Medicare Extenders proposal from House Ways and Means originally included cuts to Critical Access Hospitals swing bed reimbursement rates, suggesting the rates be decreased to that recommended in a 2015 HHS OIG report. The CAH Coalition worked with Critical Access Hospitals across the nation to tell Congress to oppose these devastating cuts and Members of Congress signed a dear colleague letter urging Congress not to support any cuts to Critical Access Hospital swing bed reimbursement rates.

These reimbursement rate cuts would have been disastrous for hospitals which serve such a critical role in the health and vitality of our rural communities, and we are proud that the Medicare Extenders were passed without harm to these essential facilities.