Senators including Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota have reintroduced legislation to help keep rural hospitals open. Iowa Farmers Union President Aaron Lehman says his group backs the bill which creates a new Rural Emergency Hospital classification under Medicare.

He says the legislation takes on added importance because agriculture is one of the most dangerous occupations.

The Senators noted that 60-percent of trauma deaths in the United States occur in rural areas, where only 15-percent of the population is represented. Lehman says that’s another major reason to pass this legislation.

Under Medicare, many rural hospitals are designated as Critical Access Hospitals, meaning they’re required to maintain a certain amount of inpatient beds as well as an emergency room. However, they’re struggling to attract enough inpatients to keep that status.