Rebuild America’s Health Care Schools Act of 2025
The Rebuild America’s Health Care Schools Act of 2025 would revise how Medicare (Title XVIII) reimburses hospitals for the costs of nursing and allied health education programs. Specifically, it expands what counts as “reasonable costs” for these programs to include a broad set of direct and indirect expenses, including costs incurred by related entities connected to the hospital (such as entities held under common ownership or boards), training and advanced clinical training of participants, contracts to supply faculty from educational institutions, and shared services that support the program. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue implementing rules within 120 days, and it protects hospitals from recouping Medicare payments for these expanded costs once the amendments take effect. If Medicare had already recouped such costs within the six years prior to enactment, the bill would require refunds of those amounts.
Key Points
- 1Expands allowable costs for Medicare cost reports to include direct and indirect costs of nursing and allied health education programs, including costs from related entities and shared services.
- 2Broadly defines “related entity” to include entities related by common ownership/control, membership in the same legal structure, or shared boards, and specifies scenarios where such entities’ costs may be included.
- 3Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue rules within 120 days to implement the changes.
- 4Prohibits Medicare Part A recoupment or reduction of payments for costs described in the bill after enactment; if recoupment occurred in the six years before enactment, it must be refunded.
- 5Applies to cost reporting periods beginning after the date of enactment.