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Sunday, June 23rd, 2024

Wyden wants more Medicaid funding to keep obstetric units open

Author:     Jessie Hellmann
Source:     Roll Call
Publication Date:     June 17, 2024 | 4:05pm
 Link: Wyden wants more Medicaid funding to keep obstetric units open
Stephan:  

This is how bad the American illness profit system has become. If you live in a rural area, particularly in a state where voters have put Republicans in control, and you are a pregnant woman, even if you want desperately to have a child you may have nowhere close to you to go for OB/GYN care. Why? Because nearly 25 percent of rural hospitals stopped providing obstetric services between 2011 and 2021. Why this happen? Senate Finance Committee Chair, Democratic Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden, gives us the explanation.
“Closures like these are driven by stark economic realities facing the hospitals and efforts by large hospital chains to streamline the business at the expense of young families.” Wyden has introduced a bill to improve this dreadful situation. We will see how the Republicans respond.

Empty infant beds sit gathered in a corner in a quiet maternity ward at rural Madera Community Hospital, which closed in January 2023, creating a lack of health care services for the blue-collar Central Valley agricultural community in Madera, Calif.
Credit: Melina Mara / The Washington Post / Getty

The chair of the Senate Finance Committee on Monday released a bill that would increase federal financial support to hospitals in hopes of stemming the tide of labor and delivery unit closures in rural and underserved areas.

Nearly a quarter of rural hospitals stopped providing obstetric services between 2011 and 2021, according to Chartis, a health care consulting firm. Analysts blame the closures on low Medicaid reimbursement rates and declining birth rates in rural communities. The combination, they said, makes it financially challenging to keep labor and delivery units staffed. 

In a call with reporters, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said he was inspired to introduce the bill after hearing of the impending closure […]

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