BLACKSBURG (WSLS 10) - A new Senate bill could help keep six Virginia hospitals open.
Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine just introduced The Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016. It's designed to help rural hospitals recover full costs of service from Medicare and Medicaid. Right now, rural medical centers get about 66 cents on the dollar from Medicaid and 89 cents on the dollar from Medicare.
Roughly 74 percent of rural hospital patients are insured through Medicare, Medicaid or another government program.
This bill would impact 29 hospitals in Virginia, the majority of which are in the Southwest region.
"In recent years, we have seen the number of rural hospitals with negative operating margins range from 42 percent to more than 50 percent," said Julian Walker, a Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association representative.
Six rural Virginia hospitals are considered high risk for closure due to financial struggles.