(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says it’s time to change Medicare billing rules so the work of registered nurses in rural Iowa clinics is reimbursed when they help conduct annual “wellness visits.”  “We’ve got kind of a disparity in ‘Rural Health Clinics’ being able to use nurses to help with these annual ‘wellness visits’ that are covered under Medicare,” Hinson says, “and so what we’re just trying to do is allow them to get reimbursed for that.” Hinson says Medicare is paying clinics connected to hospitals for the work of R-Ns do for Medicare patients during yearly wellness check-ups, but not in health care clinics in rural areas where there’s often a shortage of primary care options.

“When you look at these rural clinics, they don’t have the ability to bill in that same way,” Hinson says, “so this will allow them to be a lot more efficient and allow the nurses to utilize their full skills, but also the doctors.” Hinson, a Republican from Marion, is co-sponsoring a bill on the topic with a Democrat from Michigan.

Hinson says their “R-Ns for Rural Health Act” is a commonsense solution that will expand healthcare access, reduce costs, and enhance care in rural areas.