White House Aids Rural Hospitals

As part of an initiative to spur economic growth in rural America, the White House will make it easier for hospitals and caregivers in those areas of the country to finance health IT improvements, administration officials said this week.

Rural hospitals and clinicians will be "linked" to existing capital loan programs to buy health IT software and hardware, the White House announced. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture were to formalize an agreement authorizing the links.

"Under current conditions, rural health-care providers face challenges in harnessing the benefits of HIT due to limited access to capital and workforce challenges," the White House said. "Rural hospitals tend to have lower financial operating margins and limited capital to make the investments needed to purchase hardware, software and other equipment."

The announcement did not specify conditions of the loan program. The White House Rural Council recommended the initiative.