{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141205205009/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwin-leads-bipartisan-support-for-rural-hospitals", "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Leads Bipartisan Support For Rural Hospitals", "2014-11-18", "2014", "2014-11", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Leads Bipartisan Support For Rural Hospitals\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t27 Senators Send Letter to Obama Administration to Oppose Proposal that Weakens Critical Access Hospitals\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTuesday, November 18, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today led a bipartisan group of 27 Senators, with Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), in support of rural hospitals and the value they provide to communities across the country.\nIn a letter to President Obama, Senator Baldwin and 26 other Senators express their opposition to provisions that the President has included in previous budget requests that propose to cut Medicare reimbursement levels for and reduce access to rural hospitals. The letter urges the President to exclude these harmful proposals and to protect rural hospitals in his Fiscal Year 2016 budget. The President\u2019s FY 2015 budget proposes reducing Medicare reimbursement levels for \u201cCritical Access Hospital\u2019s\u201d (CAH) and removes the \u201ccritical access\u201d designation for any hospital within 10 miles of another hospital.\n\u201cI am deeply concerned by this proposal from the Obama Administration. If enacted, these policies would compromise access to health care and weaken rural economies in Wisconsin and across the country. I fear that these proposals could even force many rural Wisconsin hospitals to shut their doors\u2014causing a ripple effect on our economy and leaving many without access to care,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cCritical Access Hospitals play a vital role providing access to medical services, as well as economic security and jobs to rural communities. That is why I am leading a bipartisan effort to stand up for rural hospitals, their patients, and the local economies they help support.\u201d\nIn the letter, the bipartisan group writes, \u201cCritical Access Hospitals play a vital role in rural communities across the nation by providing access to primary health, emergency and acute care services as well as economic security to employees by offering quality jobs. Proposals to reduce Medicare reimbursement for CAHs and to arbitrarily rescind CAH designation for some hospitals would be detrimental to the access and delivery of high quality care in rural America.\u201d\n\u201cThe Wisconsin Hospital Association greatly appreciates Senator Baldwin\u2019s efforts on behalf of rural Wisconsin hospitals,\u201d said Steve Brenton, President, Wisconsin Hospital Association. \u201cRural and Critical Access Hospitals provide essential access to care across much of our state and the nation. We are grateful for those in Congress who continue to stand up for our rural providers against ill-advised policy proposals.\u201d\u00a0\n\"Rural Wisconsin hospitals are very appreciative of the Senators for their efforts in opposing unnecessary and arbitrary efforts by the Administration that would jeopardize rural access to critical health services,\u201d said Tim Size, Executive Director of the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. \u201cWisconsin has a number of Critical Access Hospitals that would likely be affected be the Administration's plans. These hospitals are critical in the services they provide to their communities and deserve our county's support.\"\nU.S. Senators representing 19 states joined Baldwin in signing the letter. They include: Mike Crapo (R-ID), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patty Murray (D-WA), James Inhofe (R-OK), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), John Isakson (R-GA), David Vitter (R-LA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), James Risch (R-ID), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Al Franken (D-MN), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Boozman (R-AR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI).\nAn online version of the full, signed letter can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141205205009/http://www.baldwin.senate.gov/press-releases/us-senator-tammy-baldwin-leads-bipartisan-support-for-rural-hospitals"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5914677642285824, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}