In January, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee introduced their bipartisan legislation, the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics (PREVENT Pandemics) Act.
This legislation is designed to respond to the current, and prepare for future, public health emergencies (PHE). In February, NRHA provided comments on critical rural needs for Committee consideration before mark-up. NRHA is pleased that many rural provisions were included in the Committee passed version of the bill. That said, more can be done to improve the rural public health infrastructure through this bill.
NRHA needs member support to ensure successful advocacy for: 1) the creation of an Office of Rural Health within the CDC, 2) additional capital funding for rural providers to improve their infrastructure, and 3) rural representation in all new funding and grant opportunities.
It is now time to gain momentum on ensuring that rural friendly provisions are included in the final passage of this legislation, and we need your help! NRHA urges you to use our pre-drafted Advocacy Campaign to communicate the need for rural friendly tweaks to this important legislation. As a reminder, an Advocacy Campaign is a short message you can send to your elected officials on key issues. The Advocacy Campaign for the PREVENT Pandemics Act can be found here. NRHA has provided pre-drafted language urging your elected officials to support rural friendly tweaks to this important legislation. While the pre-drafted language is sufficient, we encourage you to tell your story in the text as well. You can edit the language to explain how the amendments to the PREVENT Pandemics Act will specifically benefit your facility and community. Elected officials rely on feedback from YOU to understand what is needed in their communities.
In the coming weeks, we will also be introducing an Advocacy Campaign on the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations cycle.
As always, if you have any questions or would like additional information, do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at lcostello@ruralhealth.us.