Heals Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. I thank my colleague from Oklahoma. I could not have said it any better or more effectively than he just did.

Like Oklahoma, downstate Illinois has an area of smaller cities and rural towns and smalltown communities. Many of them are lucky enough to have great hospitals, and they love their hospitals. They are not only important sources of medical care; they are a major part of the local economy and really are a rallying point for communities. Auxiliaries, volunteers, and so many people make these hospitals the focal point when you visit these communities. They are so proud of them.

Of course, we are worried about what this current pandemic is going to do. I have had conference calls with leaders from almost 120 hospitals across Illinois. I invited Members of Congress in, so we had bipartisan exchanges about the current state of affairs. One hospital CEO from Crawford County, downstate along the Indiana border, told me that he used to pay 22 cents for a surgical gown, and now he pays between $11 and $20 for each one. Hospitals are facing limited access to reagents, swabs, and supplies that they need. The Heroes Act would direct the administration to utilize the Defense Production Act to help solve that problem, and I commend Senators Murphy and Baldwin for their legislation, which I am joining, to do the same.

One of the most profound consequences of the pandemic is the impact on the solvency of these hospitals. Across Illinois, rural hospitals are the heart and soul of the community; otherwise, people drive literally for hours to get medical care, sometimes in emergency situations. They are important parts of the local economy. We think downstate hospitals generate $5 billion into our State economy each year, and I don't doubt that.

This pandemic has pushed them to the brink. Even prior to this crisis, they were facing financial uncertainty. Half of rural hospitals were operating in the red. One in four were at risk of closure. As the Senator from Oklahoma mentioned, 120 have closed across the Nation in the past decade.

We have fared a little better in Illinois, but we are worried about the future. When a rural hospital closes, not only do doctors disappear, but jobs disappear, and businesses struggle to stay.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated and compounded the strains we face. We believe our Illinois hospitals are losing $1.4 billion each month. Many, like those near nursing homes and meat processing plants, have had to expand surge staffing to deal with COVID patients. All have been forced to cancel outpatient and elective services. In Illinois, 70 percent of rural hospital revenues are from outpatient services. The same is true in neighboring States like Kentucky.

Nationwide, rural hospitals have on average only 33 days of cash on hand. There is an immediate need to stabilize, and that is why we have come up with this bipartisan plan. Senator James Lankford and I have introduced a bill called the Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act. It is supported by the American Hospital Association and the National Rural Health Association. It would update Medicare's ``critical access hospital'' designation to provide flexibility around the 35-mile distance requirement, so more rural hospitals would qualify for additional payments from the Federal Government.

We project that six hospitals in Iowa and scores more in Illinois, New York, and Kentucky would qualify for this financial lifeline, securing their stability. We do it in a restrained, cost-effective manner by focusing on the hospitals that have faced financial losses and are located in areas with a shortage of healthcare providers. It is common sense.

This bipartisan bill is a priority for us. We want to make it a priority for the Senate, and we hope to do so. We know that we have come to this discussion with a good, encouraging conversation with Senator Grassley today in support of the Iowa Rural Health Association. The CEO and leader of the Kentucky Rural Health Association projects that more than 18 rural hospitals in that State are at high risk of closure. We hope to make that point very clear to the majority leader. Several of them would be helped by our legislation.

With a spike in COVID-19 cases across rural America, we have seen hospitals reaching capacity, and we need to make sure that our hospitals--the ones we are talking about in rural areas--survive. The health and economic toll of this crises demands it. I hope that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate include this in any bipartisan package. The cost of inaction will be disastrous.

Senator Lankford and I were prepared to seek passage of this bill by unanimous consent today, but we have been encouraged to continue negotiating with our colleagues to see if we can make it part of the package--a timely part of the package--in the near future. I hope that is the case, and we will hold off from any unanimous consent request because of that hope

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