Green Bay Reporter

U.S. Representatives Mike Gallagher, Derek Kilmer, Adrian Smith, and Suzan DelBene along with U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Barrasso have introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation aimed at benefiting Medicare patients in rural areas. The bill, known as the ACO Assignment Improvement Act, seeks to lower cost burdens on Medicare patients and improve their access to quality care organizations.

According to Rep. Gallagher, "Individuals who live in rural areas should not be disadvantaged from receiving affordable, high-quality healthcare. This bipartisan legislation is a commonsense way to get Medicare patients in Northeast Wisconsin better care at a better price by lowering burdens and increasing access to higher quality care organizations."

Rep. Kilmer emphasized the importance of creating more options for rural Americans to access value-based, coordinated care, stating, "Congress needs to step up and create more options for rural Americans to access value-based, coordinated care so that everyone can get medical care close to home and stay healthy without breaking the bank."

Rep. Smith highlighted the essential role of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists in providing primary care in rural areas, stating, "The ACO Assignment Improvement Act will afford those serving these rural patients more opportunities to continue providing high quality, coordinated care by removing barriers to participation in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations."

Sen. DelBene stressed the need to incentivize quality over quantity in healthcare delivery, stating, "Providers should be compensated based on the quality of the care they deliver and whether their patients actually get better, instead of the quantity of services provided."

Sen. Whitehouse commended the success of Rhode Island's accountable care organizations in improving patient care and lowering costs for seniors, stating, "Our bipartisan legislation would encourage further innovation in health care by removing red tape for patients while delivering coordinated higher quality care to more Medicare beneficiaries."

Sen. Barrasso, a doctor from a frontier state, emphasized the importance of expanding Accountable Care Organizations to include more providers in rural areas to keep healthcare costs low and efficiency high.

The ACO Assignment Improvement Act aims to remove a burdensome requirement for Medicare patients in rural areas, allowing them to be assigned to Medicare Accountable Care Organizations based on primary care visits with nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists.

ACOs have been shown to save the Medicare program billions of dollars by delivering high-quality, coordinated patient care. In Rhode Island, ACOs have contributed to significant savings for Medicare while providing care to thousands of patients.

The introduction of the ACO Assignment Improvement Act reflects a bipartisan effort to improve healthcare access and quality for Medicare patients in rural areas.