WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) today said millions of families in small, rural communities have access to quality medical care because the hospital in their area is designated as a critical access hospital, allowing the facility to receive a higher Medicare reimbursement for services provided. They are seeking to expand this opportunity for communities and prevent struggling hospitals from closing or reducing staff positions and patient services. Brownback said, "Rural hospitals are the cornerstone businesses of many small towns in my state of Kansas. Maintaining access to these facilities and their health care providers benefits the surrounding community twofold: it ensures access to vital health care services, as well as offers employment, to the local residents. This legislation will allow small, rural hospitals in my state to have a reimbursement option that helps to keep their doors open during these uncertain economic times." Brownback and Pryor said the bipartisan Critical Access Flexibility Act of 2009 will enable community hospitals to receive a cost-based Medicare reimbursement by waiving a provision in the Medicare law that requires a critical access hospital to be 35 miles away from another health care facility. Specifically, the legislation restores a state's authority to waive the mileage requirements if all other requirements are met and the state designates the facility as a necessary provider. Pryor said, "Retaining medical care in rural communities is an ongoing challenge that must be met. My legislation seeks to keep ailing, rural hospitals afloat by simply expanding the circle of providers who can receive an equitable Medicare reimbursement."