Call to Action: Protect and Extend Vital Rural Medicare Programs
Congress has enacted a number of programs that help rural providers face the inherent challenges in the rural delivery system. Many of these provisions are set to expire at various points during 2012, many at the end of the February. Failure to extend these vital provisions will harm rural providers and the patients they serve. These "extenders" are vital to ensuring that rural hospitals, doctors and other professionals can provide needed emergency, primary and mental health care. We encourage you to contact your Members of Congress and ask them to protect rural patients and providers by extending these vital Medicare provisions. A list and explanation of these programs can be found here. Please ask your Members of Congress to contact conferees to express support for these vital provisions.