SR104 Summary

• Expresses gratitude to CMS Administrator Seema Verma, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and President Trump for proposing relief to Medicare hospital payment inequities through the "Rethink Rural Health Care" policy.

• Acknowledges Alabama's hospitals contribute $20 billion annually to the state economy, directly employ nearly 90,000 people, with rural hospitals contributing over $550 million in payroll and benefits yearly.

• Identifies the Medicare wage index formula as inequitable, causing some hospitals nationally to receive significantly higher payments for identical procedures compared to Alabama hospitals, affecting approximately 40 percent of Alabama's Medicare patients.

• Documents that seven rural hospitals have closed in Alabama since 2011 due to financial pressures including high uninsured patient rates, chronic condition populations, and lower-than-average reimbursement rates.

• Urges CMS to finalize proposed wage index adjustments to ensure an equitable Medicare payment formula for all hospitals and protect access to care for all Americans.