Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden met with Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital officials to hear their concerns surrounding a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rule requiring physicians at critical access hospitals like Providence Hood River to certify at the time of admission that Medicare and Medicaid patients will not be at the hospital for more than 96 hours. Walden is one of 37 Republicans and 13 Democrats to co-sponsor a bill from Nebraska Representative Adrian Smith to repeal the rule. The Hood River Republican says the rule has been on the books for more than a decade but had not been enforced until recently. If the patient is at the hospital more than 96 hours the hospital must transfer the patient or face non-reimbursement. The bill is currently in committee, and there is an identical bill pending in the Senate.