Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced legislation (S. 1431) that would extend through July 2016 an exemption that allows all CAHs to participate in the Federal Housing Administration's Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program. Without the exemption, which expired July 31, many rural hospitals would not qualify for the low-cost loan insurance based on patients' average length of stay, raising their financing costs for construction and renovation loans. Since 2006, 10 rural hospitals in 10 states have received mortgage insurance through the program as a result of the exemption. For more information, click here. If your CAH has participated in this program and you have feedback about this exemption, please contact jd@coruralhealth.org or ss@coruralhealth.org.
