What This Bill Does · Plain English
Summary · Congress.gov
Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025 This bill temporarily allows additional hospitals to qualify as critical access hospitals (CAHs) that receive special payment under Medicare. Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH under Medicare, a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (or 15 miles in mountainous regions or areas with only secondary roads) from another hospital, or (2) have been certified prior to January 1, 2006, by the state as a necessary provider of services in the area. Hospitals also must meet certain size and service requirements, including having no more than 25 acute care inpatient beds. The bill allows, for one year, hospitals that are participating in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program to also qualify as CAHs. (The program tests the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement for small rural hospitals that are too large to qualify as CAHs.)
Action Timeline
2025-02-11
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
2025-02-11
Introduced in House
2025-02-11
Introduced in House
Frequently Asked Questions
Did HR.1191 pass?
HR.1191 is still alive. Current stage: COMMITTEE. Pass likelihood: 53%.
What does HR.1191 do?
Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025 This bill temporarily allows additional hospitals to qualify as critical access hospitals (CAHs) that receive special payment under Medicare. Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH under Medicare, a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (or 15 miles in mountainous regions or areas with only secondary roads) from another hospital, or (2) have been certified prior to January 1, 2006, by the state as a necessary provider of services in the area. Hospitals also must meet certain size and service requirements, including ha…
Who sponsored HR.1191?
HR.1191 was sponsored by Mike Flood (R-Nebraska).
Full Bill Text
119 HR 1191 IH: Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025 U.S. House of Representatives 2025-02-11 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1191 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 11, 2025 Mr. Flood (for himself and Mr. Smith of Nebraska ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to waive certain distance requirements for certain hospitals electing to be designated as critical access hospitals. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025 . 2. Waiving certain distance requirements for certain hospitals electing to be designated as critical access hospitals (a) In general Section 1820(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395i–4(c)(2)(B)(i) ) is amended— (1) in subclause (I), by striking or at the end; (2) in subclause (II), by adding or at the end; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subclause: (III) with respect to designations occurring during the 1-year period beginning on the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this subclause, is a rural community hospital (as defined in subsection (f) of section 410A of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003) that was participating in the demonstration program established under such section as of such date of enactment. . (b) Conforming amendments Section 410A(f)(1)(A)(iv) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 ( 42 U.S.C. 1395ww note) is amended by striking is not and all that follows through the period and inserting is not a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the Social Security Act). .
Loading intelligence layer…