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Lawmakers press HHS on rural hospital finances and Indian Health Service commitments
Summary
Members raised the long‑running problem of rural hospital finances, the CMS area wage index and workforce shortages; Secretary Kennedy pledged technical support and to protect Indian Health Service funding and staffing, but said statutory changes are required for some fixes.
Several members told Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that rural hospitals and the Indian Health Service (IHS) require urgent attention, pressing for steps to address reimbursement, shortages and longtime structural problems.
The committee chair described chronic rural health problems in his state, saying “Rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in my state of Alabama exceed the national average,” and noting that in 2010 “at least 14 hospitals in Alabama closed their doors.” He asked whether HHS and CMS would review the area wage index, which adjusts Medicare wage reimbursements and—because the index must remain budget‑neutral—can leave…
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