Stay ahead of the latest regulatory shifts and healthcare breaking news with Headlines from the Hill.
In this month’s edition you will find:
- Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act: Critical access hospital bill proposed.
- Low-Volume/Medicare-Dependent Hospital programs to become permanent thanks to bipartisan bill.
- Creating healthy options and better incentives: House committee hearing readout.
- Behavioral health update: Bipartisan bill proposed.
Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act: Critical access hospital bill proposed.
The bipartisan Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act would support financially vulnerable rural hospitals facing risk of closure. The legislation would update Medicare’s “Critical Access Hospital” (CAH) designation so more rural hospitals can qualify for this financial lifeline and continue to serve their communities with quality, affordable healthcare services.
Under CAH status, hospitals are paid a higher Medicare rate, as long as they:
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- Have fewer than 25 inpatient beds
- Are located 35 miles from other hospitals
- Maintain average patient length of stay of 96 hours or less
- Offer 24/7 emergency care
This elevated federal reimbursement rate would be essential for more than 1,300 rural hospitals to serve their communities.
The Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act would support and stabilize rural hospitals by providing flexibility around the 35-mile distance requirement and enabling states to certify a hospital as a “necessary provider” in order to obtain CAH designation. This authority ended in 2006, but today’s bill would re-open this financial lifeline for certain rural hospitals that serve a low-income community, are located in a health professional shortage area, and have operated with negative margins for multiple years.
The bill is supported by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA).
Low-Volume/Medicare-Dependent Hospital programs to become permanent thanks to bipartisan bill.
The bipartisan Rural Hospital Support Act could permanently extend the Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) program to ensure eligible rural hospitals are reimbursed for their costs. The bill would also permanently extend the Low-Volume Hospital (LVH) program to level the playing field for rural hospitals whose operating costs often outpace their revenue.
These hospitals also serve as economic anchors – accounting for around 14% of total employment in rural areas. The MDH and LVH programs have supported rural communities for decades. The programs were last extended as part of the Continuing Resolution on December 20, 2024, and would expire on March 31, 2025, without congressional action.
The Rural Hospital Support Act does not change other rural hospital Medicare programs, including critical access hospitals (CAH), rural referral centers (RRC), Rural Community Hospital Demonstration, or the new voluntary rural emergency hospitals (REH). Each of these rural programs offers unique flexibilities to ensure healthcare services are accessible in rural America. Additionally, the bill would also update the rebasing year for Sole Community Hospitals (SCH) and MDHs to allow hospitals to tie reimbursement estimates to more recent trends in costs.
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Fetterman (D-PA), John Boozman (R-AR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Gary Peters (D-MI).
Creating healthy options and better incentives: House committee hearing readout.
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health held a hearing titled, “Modernizing American Healthcare: Creating Healthy Options and Better Incentives.” The conversation primarily focused on the importance of disease prevention, federal funding, insurance options and the rising cost of healthcare.
Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) emphasized his commitment to tackling the chronic disease epidemic, highlighting the recently passed Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act (H.R.3800) and reiterating his support for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s agenda. He spoke about the impact wellness programs can have in the workplace by reducing healthcare costs, noting that a recent report showed obesity would result in $1.9 trillion in excess medical expenses this year.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) said he is concerned about the Trump administration’s recent actions, noting delays in funding to community health centers (CHCs), layoffs and hiring freezes, which worsen the healthcare workforce crisis. He also underlined the threat of diseases like polio returning due to anti-vaccine agendas. The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will continue to examine ways to improve healthcare while lowering costs.
Behavioral health update: Bipartisan bill proposed.
U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, a comprehensive law successfully passed in 2022 to help prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among healthcare professionals.
The law has already provided $100 million in funding for mental healthcare for providers across the country, but provisions of the law that made this funding possible expired last year. The Act would reauthorize these grant programs for five years. Specifically, the Act would:
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- Reauthorize a grant program for healthcare organizations and professional associations to provide peer-support programming, employee education on strategies to reduce burnout, and mental and behavioral health treatment for five years. Communities with a shortage of healthcare workers, rural communities, and those experiencing burnout due to administrative burdens such as lengthy paperwork will be prioritized.
- Reauthorize a grant program for health profession schools or other institutions to train healthcare workers and students in strategies to prevent suicide, burnout, mental health conditions and substance use disorders for five years.
- Reauthorize a national evidence-based education and awareness campaign. Currently, the campaign provides hospital and health system leaders with evidence-informed solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout. Reauthorization will provide resources for the campaign to continue and expand beyond its current scope.
