Rural Hospitals to Get Higher Medicare Payments
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Rural hospitals will see increases in Medicare (search) payments starting Thursday under provisions of the new Medicare law, the government said.
The law is intended to boost hospital payments by $12 billion over 10 years.
The new payment rates will raise Medicare reimbursements for small hospitals in rural areas that serve a disproportionate share of elderly or disabled patients with low incomes. The law that President Bush signed in December also makes permanent a standard minimum level of reimbursement for hospitals, regardless of where they are located.
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Rural lawmakers insisted on measures in the Medicare law to reduce the gap in Medicare reimbursement rates (search) between urban hospitals and rural ones.