President's FY 2016 calls for cuts to rural programs
President Obama’s budget proposal, released last week, continues to be a source of concern for many rural providers. The White House’s FY 2016 budget calls for eliminating important rural health programs including the Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and Rural Access to Emergency Devices. President Obama again proposes cuts to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), including a cut in cost-based reimbursement and the elimination of the designated CAH status if another facility is within 10 miles, regardless of the care that the other facility offers. Other programs facing cuts are the Health Information Technology Research, Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant, and the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant. NRHA will continue its efforts to ensure that these cuts are not enacted. NRHA asks that members of Congress stand up for rural Americans and provide adequate funding to train and retain a quality workforce in rural America. NRHA’s funding requests for FY 2016 can be found here.