Senator Ron Wyden proposes a bill to increase federal financial support for rural hospitals to prevent labor & delivery unit closures.

Senator Ron Wyden proposes bill to increase federal financial support for hospitals to prevent labor & delivery unit closures in rural, underserved areas. Nearly a quarter of rural hospitals stopped providing obstetric services between 2011-2021, primarily due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates and declining birth rates in rural communities, making it financially challenging to keep labor and delivery units staffed.