Republican 16th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger authored legislation late last year that, if passed, would provide relief to struggling rural hospitals. The Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act would expand and utilize a tested and proven rural payment system, the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) program, in order to stabilize vulnerable hospitals serving our rural communities until a long-term payment model is developed.

Kinzinger says "with over 120 closures of rural hospitals in the past decade, it’s time for us to take action and protect the critical healthcare infrastructure providing care within our rural communities."

Kinzinger introduced the measure in December (2018) with Congressman David Loebsack of Iowa and Congressman Jimmy Panetta of California. A companion measure was introduced in the Senate by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois and Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma.

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