Republican Dan Newhouse is pressing the federal agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid to make it easier for hospitals located on tribal lands, including one in Toppenish, to achieve a federal status that will provide higher reimbursement for federally-supported care. 

The outgoing U.S. House member specifically mentioned Astria Toppenish Hospital in his letter to Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, advocating for a pathway for such hospitals to be designated as Critical Access Hospitals. 

Astria Toppenish currently does not qualify for the status as it is located within 35 miles of another hospital, per federal regulations.  

Newhouse said that should change given the population it serves and the financial straits the hospital finds itself in. 

“Implementing these new administrative changes to the Interpretive Guidelines for the program will support rural hospitals in fighting against the drug and mental health crises that have been persistent across my state and is a significant opportunity to safeguard existing, essential healthcare services for our rural and tribal communities,” Newhouse wrote.