CEO Update: Protecting Healthcare
Each year, the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) attends the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) Policy Institute. This year I have the honor of serving as the NRHA Board President. The Policy Institute, in its 36th year, gives Colorado-based staff an opportunity to meet with the state’s senators and representatives to discuss legislative priorities and solutions. It’s a way to share our stories and to ask our policy makers specifically how they will work to support rural healthcare.
This year, our Colorado delegation met with the offices of 6 of our senators and representatives. During those visits we discussed the importance of protecting Medicare and Medicaid funding, protecting rural grant funding, access to capital funding, Medicare Advantage challenges, 340B, sequestration, helpful changes to the cost report, the preceptor tax credit bill that is upcoming, rural health top priorities from NRHA and more.
As you know, healthcare is one of the top 3 industries in rural Colorado supporting 744,000 jobs and adding $147.5 billion dollars to local economies. In 2024, in rural Colorado counties, Medicare and Medicaid insurance coverage rates span a low percentage at 26.3 in Eagle and Summit counties to a higher percentage in Costilla county of 88.5. This simply means that rural hospitals and clinics, and people in rural communities, are generally reliant on Medicare and Medicaid funding. Changes or reductions in these payment methods will disproportionately impact rural facilities and families, including potential closure of rural hospitals and clinics they operate. On average, when a rural hospital closes 220 hospitals jobs and 72 non-hospital jobs are lost.
In this time of uncertainty in Federal policy, I ask that you reach out to your federal policy makers and make sure to share your stories of how having access to local healthcare is not only important but vital to you and your community. Sharing stories is the best way to be impactful.
For more information on rural communities please visit https://coruralhealth.org/snapshot-of-rural-health to download the 2025 Snapshot of Rural Health.
