Legislation Would Give New Funding to Rural Emergency Health Care Providers
Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) has introduced legislation (S 587) that would give rural emergency care providers a chance to obtain additional federal grant funding, the AP/Casper Star-Tribune reports. Co-sponsored by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the bill would allow rural emergency care providers to compete for part of $50 million in annual federal grants and would help ambulance providers collect payments for transporting patients. Thomas said that the health care system is "biased against people who live in rural areas" because rural emergency care providers have less money to purchase and upgrade their equipment and have difficulty recruiting, training and retaining volunteers (AP/Casper Star-Tribune, 4/2).
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