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HR 1191119th CongressIntroduced
Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025
Introduced: Oct 29, 2025
HealthcareSocial Services
Standard Summary
Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs
This legislation amends the Social Security Act to temporarily waive distance requirements for rural community hospitals that participated in a specific Medicare demonstration program, enabling them to qualify as critical access hospitals to improve healthcare access in underserved rural areas during a designated one-year application window starting six months after enactment.
Key Points
- 1The bill creates a temporary exception allowing rural community hospitals participating in the Medicare demonstration program as of enactment to bypass standard distance criteria for critical access hospital designation.
- 2It establishes a one-year application period beginning six months after law enactment specifically for these hospitals to secure critical access status without meeting typical geographic requirements.
- 3Conforming amendments modify the rural community hospital definition to exclude facilities already designated as critical access hospitals under existing Medicare regulations.
Impact Areas
Rural community hospitals in geographically isolated areasMedicare beneficiaries residing in underserved rural communitiesFederal Medicare reimbursement structures and critical access hospital program administration
Generated by legislative-analyst-2025 on Nov 3, 2025