Physician Led Rural Access Act

Summary#

This bill changes parts of section 1877 of the Social Security Act that deal with physician self-referral rules for physician-owned hospitals. It creates a new definition called a "covered rural hospital." A covered rural hospital must be in a rural area (per section 1886(d)(2)(D)) and be more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital or critical access hospital (or more than a 15-mile drive in mountainous areas or where only secondary roads exist). The bill inserts exceptions in existing self-referral provisions so that some rules no longer apply to covered rural hospitals. It also amends rules about expansion of existing physician-owned hospitals by adding a new paragraph that removes the earlier prohibition on expansion beginning on the date this change takes effect.

What it means for you#

• The bill changes which physician-owned hospitals are treated differently under the Medicare self-referral rules by creating a special category for remote rural hospitals that meet the distance and rural-area tests.
• The bill removes the stated ban on expansion of existing physician-owned hospitals as of the date the change takes effect.
• No publicly available information on how many hospitals or which communities will be affected is included in the bill text or metadata provided.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs or budget effects is included in the bill text or metadata provided.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information on proponents' statements, findings, or cost justifications is included in the bill text or metadata provided.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on opponents' statements, concerns, or analyses is included in the bill text or metadata provided.