H.R.7727

The Sustaining Rural Healthcare Act ensures continued designation of critical access hospitals under Medicare.

The Sustaining Rural Healthcare Act amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure the continued designation of certain critical access hospitals under the Medicare program. This bill allows the Secretary to designate a hospital as a Critical Access in Character if it is critical to ensuring access to essential health services in the community it serves. The hospital must be located in a rural area, serve medically underserved, persistent poverty, Tribal, or frontier communities, and serve a high proportion of Medicare beneficiaries.