A bipartisan effort is underway in the Senate to expand access, increase choice and improve the quality of health care in rural areas.  The goals are to improve Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements to rural providers.

Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) are working to get the bill into law.

A big problem for rural areas is that reimbursement systems favor urban areas or do not take into account special needs of rural providers, said Grassley.  The bill could correct Medicare payment formulas that discriminate against rural areas to pay hospitals and other rural health care providers more fairly.

In the budget act of 1997, Medicaid funding for community health clinics and rural health clinics was  changed, leaving no guarantee that states would adequately fund the facilities.  The new legislation would create a new funded payment system for the clinics.