PRESQUE ISLE — A new effort could keep critical funding flowing for Maine’s rural hospitals.

Earlier this month, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of of Maine’s 2nd District introduced legislation to extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration for five years.

It’s a federal program that gives certain rural hospitals increased Medicare reimbursements to help cover the cost of patient care.

The bill, known as the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program Reauthorization Act, was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and co-led by Golden and Reps. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Janelle Bynum, D-Ore.

“These hospitals are essential, but face unique challenges associated with rural places,” said Golden. “Extending this program for another five years will provide them the stability they need to focus on what matters most: caring for their patients.”

Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital in Ellsworth and Northern Light AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle have both used the program.

Healthcare leaders say it helps keep the doors open for Mainers who would otherwise be forced to travel long distances for care.

“We as a state need to say, 'Well, what is an acceptable distance to travel for care?’ Is it right if someone is going to deliver a baby? There’s really no place between Presque Isle and Bangor currently,” said Dr. Jay Reynolds, president of Northern Light AR Gould Hospital.

“AR Gould-sized hospitals fill the gap with a lot of specialty care, orthopedics and urology and pulmonology and nephrology and our dialysis center,” he added.

Reynolds said it’s a vital program because Maine’s rural hospitals are struggling financially.

“We’re paid under a completely different, and most of the time much lower, pay scale than critical access hospitals are,” said Reynolds. “We have a very high reliance on public payers. And oftentimes, those payers don’t reimburse the hospitals that provide care even at the level that it costs hospitals to provide that care.”

To qualify for the program, a hospital must be in a rural area, have fewer than 51 beds and not already be part of the Critical Access Hospitals program.

“There are hospitals that are just too large to be critical access hospitals, which have a whole different level of reimbursement, but they’re too small to really have economy of scale,” said Lisa Harvey-McPherson, vice president for government relations at Northern Light Health. “If we want to keep this type of hospital open in rural America, we need to recognize that inpatient care has a level of cost that these hospitals will struggle to overcome.”

The current test program is set to expire at the end of this year. The new bill would extend it through 2031.