From the July 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine

In addition, policymakers should ensure that REHs can receive capital infrastructure funding to update their facilities as necessary to support transformation and ensure safe and high-quality care. They also should make technical assistance available on an ongoing basis to support hospitals transitioning to and operating as REHs.

Rural residents should continue to have access to inpatient hospital care and policymakers should allow communities to leverage their local infrastructure and workforce as much as possible by, for instance, allowing REHs to have a minimal number of inpatient beds or enhanced observation beds in communities with little or no access to inpatient care. Policymakers should also ensure that new rural models meet community needs by, for instance, requiring hospitals (including new REHs) to report on at least a narrow set of rural-relevant quality indicators in order to increase accountability and improve the quality of care.


BPC’s report includes further recommendations on how the administration and Congress can ensure an adequate rural health care workforce and secure access to virtual care in rural communities.

About the author: Julia Harris is a senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

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