LIMA – During a visit to Allen County today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) met with workers and toured St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. The facility is the county’s largest employer with more than 3,000 employees.
“Community hospitals like St. Rita’s are so important to our health care system and to the overall health of northwest Ohio,” Brown said. “This hospital is an anchor for the community and is a huge economic driver for the entire region. That’s why we must ensure that the leaders and workers at St. Rita’s have the support and resources they need to serve this community.”
Brown is a strong supporter of Ohio hospitals and health care providers. He is an original cosponsor of the Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act, legislation to reform the Affordable Care Act’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) so that hospitals serving low-income populations are evaluated and reimbursed fairly.
In addition, he led the effort to pass the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 which extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017 and repeals and replaces the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Brown was the lead sponsor of the Protecting and Retaining Our Children’s Health Insurance Program (PRO-CHIP) Act in the Senate. Because of the two-year extension, children and pregnant women who receive health coverage through CHIP will not lose their health coverage.
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