This bill would create the Rural Health Care Facility Technical Assistance Program at the Department of Agriculture. The Program would give tailored technical assistance and training to eligible rural health care facilities, directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. Help would include identifying development needs (for example, construction, telehealth, or electronic health records), improving financial and business strategies, and helping facilities apply for USDA loan and grant programs. The bill lists goals such as improving financial positions, preventing facility closures, strengthening rural health care delivery, and continuing the existing Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program. It defines eligible facilities (examples include hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, long-term care hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, rural emergency hospitals, home health agencies, community health centers, religious nonmedical institutions, and sole community hospitals). The Secretary must do outreach, may give priority to certain USDA borrowers and grantees, and must report annually to House and Senate Agriculture committees with details on projects and outcomes.
If you work at or rely on a rural health care facility, this would mean a federal program is available to provide hands-on help with planning, operations, finances, upgrading equipment or buildings, telehealth expansion, and applying for USDA funding. Facilities that already borrow from or receive grants from certain USDA rural programs may get priority. The program requires annual public reporting to congressional agriculture committees about projects and results.
The bill authorizes up to $2,000,000 per year for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the Program. No publicly available information on total budgetary impact, offsets, or a Congressional Budget Office score is provided in the bill text or metadata.
The bill's text states the Program's goals: to improve long-term financial and operational strength of rural health facilities, prevent closures, strengthen rural health care delivery, and help facilities access and compete for USDA loans and grants. Supporters can point to these stated goals as the reason for establishing the Program.
No publicly available information.