McCaskill Backs Bipartisan Plan to Increase Rural Access to Hospice Care
Senator: ‘This commonsense fix will allow Missourians who are at the end of their life to continue seeing the doctors they know and trust’
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is backing a bipartisan proposal to allow Missouri patients in rural communities the ability to use their local physicians and health centers for end-of-life hospice care.
“This commonsense fix will give Missourians in hospice care at the end of their life the freedom to continue seeing the doctors they know and trust,” McCaskill said. “As rural healthcare providers in Missouri face challenges that have forced too many to close their doors, we should be doing all we can to support them in their efforts to treat the folks in their communities.”
The bipartisan Rural Access to Hospice Act would allow hospice patients in rural areas who are affiliated with a federally qualified health center or a rural health clinic to use their doctors for end of life care. Currently, doctors at these facilities are restricted from receiving compensation related to caring for hospice patients. This fix will allow these doctors to continue to receive standard compensation for this care, enabling Missourians to use their local providers instead of forcing them to travel extensively, while also supporting rural healthcare providers.
McCaskill has been a longtime advocate for improving access to quality healthcare in underserved communities. McCaskill supported a bipartisan proposal to improve Missourians’ access to care by expanding telehealth services in Medicare, and at a recent Senate hearing, McCaskill shared feedback she received from Missourians on the challenges facing rural communities due to a lack of doctors.
McCaskill is also backing a proposal that would increase the number of doctors in rural Missouri by requiring Medicare to reimburse medical residency training programs for medical residents. Hospitals and health centers find that providers who train in their hospitals are more likely to return and serve in that community. In response to rural hospital closures across the country, McCaskill called for an investigation into the challenges these hospitals face, trends in rural hospital closures, and recommendations for the federal government about addressing these issues.
Visit mccaskill.senate.gov/
###
