NELSON: NEBRASKA RURAL TELEHEALTH NETWORK 'STILL CONNECTED'

Rural Hospitals in Nebraska Spared Bureaucratic Fate

February 15, 2008 - Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson announced today that the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network (NSTN) will no longer be in danger of losing federal funding that was threatened by a bureaucratic rule change proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nelson had asked the FCC to reconsider the rule’s impact on rural hospitals.

"A robust telehealth care network is vital to the continued strength and growth of our rural communities," said Senator Nelson. "I applaud the FCC for ensuring that our health care network is still connected to serve our communities."

Telehealth networks allow for specialized care in rural areas that would otherwise be without such services due to their distance from larger hospitals. The networks operate from hub hospitals via telecommunications connections. In Nebraska, four critical hospitals located in Fremont, Grand Island, Kearney and Norfolk serve as hub hospitals. These hospitals provide specialty services, experts in clinical specialties, and distance education to members of the telehealth network, which include over 80 rural providers in Nebraska.

These four hospitals stood to lose federal funding due to a change in the definition of "rural" made by the FCC in 2004. The subsidies have continued under a three year grandfather clause set to expire this year. Senator Nelson urged the FCC to extend the "grandfather" clause to preserve these hospitals' funding.

"Without these subsidies, the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network would have been denied approximately $223,000 per year. That loss of revenue would have made it impossible for our critical hospitals to serve as the backbone to our network," said Senator Nelson.

Senator Nelson sent a letter to the FCC earlier this month expressing his concern that four Nebraska hospitals would not continue to receive federal funding if the "grandfather" clause was not extended.

Nelson received word yesterday from the FCC that the NSTN had been granted another three year extension and that the four major hospitals in Nebraska would continue to receive federal funding. Nelson is committed to providing a sustainable funding source for the NSTN and looks forward to working with the next administration to achieve this.

"This is just another example of how sometimes you need to remind people back in Washington about the needs of rural communities," said Senator Nelson.

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	Press Release	February 15, 2008
NELSON: NEBRASKA RURAL TELEHEALTH NETWORK 'STILL CONNECTED' Rural Hospitals in Nebraska Spared Bureaucratic Fate February 15, 2008 - Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson announced today that the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network (NSTN) will no longer be in danger of losing federal funding that was threatened by a bureaucratic rule change proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nelson had asked the FCC to reconsider the rule’s impact on rural hospitals. "A robust telehealth care network is vital to the continued strength and growth of our rural communities," said Senator Nelson. "I applaud the FCC for ensuring that our health care network is still connected to serve our communities." Telehealth networks allow for specialized care in rural areas that would otherwise be without such services due to their distance from larger hospitals. The networks operate from hub hospitals via telecommunications connections. In Nebraska, four critical hospitals located in Fremont, Grand Island, Kearney and Norfolk serve as hub hospitals. These hospitals provide specialty services, experts in clinical specialties, and distance education to members of the telehealth network, which include over 80 rural providers in Nebraska. These four hospitals stood to lose federal funding due to a change in the definition of "rural" made by the FCC in 2004. The subsidies have continued under a three year grandfather clause set to expire this year. Senator Nelson urged the FCC to extend the "grandfather" clause to preserve these hospitals' funding. "Without these subsidies, the Nebraska Statewide Telehealth Network would have been denied approximately $223,000 per year. That loss of revenue would have made it impossible for our critical hospitals to serve as the backbone to our network," said Senator Nelson. Senator Nelson sent a letter to the FCC earlier this month expressing his concern that four Nebraska hospitals would not continue to receive federal funding if the "grandfather" clause was not extended. Nelson received word yesterday from the FCC that the NSTN had been granted another three year extension and that the four major hospitals in Nebraska would continue to receive federal funding. Nelson is committed to providing a sustainable funding source for the NSTN and looks forward to working with the next administration to achieve this. "This is just another example of how sometimes you need to remind people back in Washington about the needs of rural communities," said Senator Nelson. ###