Bill > S3047

This bill, known as the "Restoring Rural Health Act," provides special treatment for certain critical access hospitals (CAHs) that were designated as such as of January 1, 2024, but later received notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that they no longer meet the distance requirements for CAH status. Specifically, the bill amends Section 1820(c)(2)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act to create an exception for hospitals that receive a noncompliance notice between December 1, 2024, and January 1, 2027, regarding the regulatory distance requirement. This means these hospitals would be allowed to maintain their critical access hospital designation despite no longer meeting the original geographic proximity standards. Critical access hospitals are typically small, rural facilities that provide essential healthcare services in areas with limited medical infrastructure, and this bill aims to protect such hospitals from losing their special status due to technical regulatory noncompliance.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3047/all-info