Dick Durbin

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, met today with University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine in Rockford leaders, along with other Illinois members of the National Rural Health Association.

During their meeting about the challenges of providing health care in rural communities, Durbin and the health care leaders discussed the importance of preserving Medicaid funding from Republican proposals to cut health insurance benefits and coverage. They also discussed workforce initiatives to recruit and retain health care providers to serve in rural areas

To help address the shortage of health care professionals, Durbin secured $1 billion in the American Rescue Plan for scholarship and loan repayment awards through the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps to build a more diverse pipeline of clinicians and recruit more health providers to serve in shortage areas.

Durbin also spoke about his Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act, which he introduced earlier this week. The bipartisan legislation would update Medicare’s “Critical Access Hospital” designation so more rural hospitals can qualify for the financial lifeline and continue to serve their communities. Small and rural hospitals are often communities’ largest employers, contributing nearly $5 billion in direct spending on payroll, goods and services in Illinois.

According to Durbin, more than 135 rural hospitals have closed in the past dozen years, an estimated 50 percent of rural hospitals ran operating losses last year, and more than 400 hospitals are facing the risk of closure.

“Across rural Illinois, hospitals and clinics are the backbone of the local economy,” Durbin said. “I am committed to helping recruit more doctors, nurses, dentists and behavioral health providers, and ensure sustainable federal funding for these critical anchors of the community.”