(The Center Square) — Making rural health care better in Pennsylvania may require some significant changes in state law.
Some experts point toward funding problems while others note legal barriers to improvements.
“Rural health care in Pennsylvania faces some very unique challenges specific to its population and location,” Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, said during a Wednesday meeting of the Senate Majority Policy Committee.
From vast distances to an aging population and a lack of providers, problems in the rural parts of the commonwealth will not disappear with time.
“I am here today to tell you that rural hospitals are on the brink of disaster without increased support from our state and federal governments,” said Steven Fontaine, CEO of Penn Highlands Healthcare.
Fontaine warned that low payments from insurers and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements falling short of the cost of services will become a bigger issue in rural Pennsylvania. On top of that,
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