Testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024 Keith J. Mueller, Ph.D.

Gerhard Hartman Professor of Health Management and Policy Director, Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Chair, RUPRI Health Panel and Director, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis College of Public Health, University of Iowa Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, members of the Finance Committee, thank you for holding this hearing on rural health. [...] Yet we have seen the resilience of rural health providers and organizations as they rose to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and now keep their focus on improving health for members of their communities. [...] In a payment environment shifting to the importance of addressing health, rural hospitals and primary care clinics can be advantaged. [...] 3 Shifting to MA, the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, with funding from HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, has tracked rural enrollment since October 2000 a little over 200,000 beneficiaries were enrolled in Medicare+Choice plans. [...] Thanks again for this opportunity to discuss critical issues and policy considerations that would strengthen and sustain essential health services in the nation’s rural communities.