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Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025
3/12/2025, 2:14 PM
Summary of Bill S 521
Currently, in order to qualify as a critical access hospital, facilities must be located at least 35 miles away from another hospital. However, this bill seeks to waive this distance requirement for hospitals that elect to be designated as critical access hospitals. This waiver would allow more hospitals to qualify for critical access status, thereby increasing access to healthcare services in rural areas.
The bill aims to improve healthcare access and quality in rural communities by allowing more hospitals to qualify for critical access status. By waiving certain distance requirements, hospitals in underserved areas will have the opportunity to receive critical access designation, which comes with benefits such as higher reimbursement rates and increased flexibility in providing care. Overall, the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act seeks to address the healthcare disparities faced by rural communities by expanding the eligibility criteria for critical access hospitals. This bill has the potential to improve healthcare outcomes and access for individuals living in rural areas across the United States.
Congressional Summary of S 521
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.)
