Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act
Sponsored By: Representative Griffith
Introduced
Summary
This bill would revise Medicare's physician self-referral rules and create a new "covered rural hospital" category. It would allow physician-owned hospitals to expand while excluding certain rural hospitals from the exemption.
Show full summary
- Defines "covered rural hospital" as a hospital in a rural area that is more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital or critical access hospital, or more than 15 miles in mountainous terrain or where only secondary roads exist.
- Establishes a sunset of the federal prohibition on expansion for physician-owned hospitals, so those hospitals would be able to expand upon enactment.
- Changes who qualifies for the physician self-referral exemption, which could increase physician-owned hospital capacity outside covered rural hospitals and affect local Medicare patient options.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
New rules for rural physician-owned hospitals
If enacted, Medicare would define a "covered rural hospital." A hospital would qualify if it is in a rural area and more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital or a critical access hospital, or 15 miles in mountains or where only secondary roads exist. The bill would say that two parts of the physician self-referral exception would not apply to these covered rural hospitals. These changes would take effect at enactment and would apply when the hospital enrolls in Medicare.
Physician-owned hospitals could expand again
If enacted, the current ban on expansions by physician-owned hospitals would end. The change would start on the date this new paragraph is enacted. The bill also updates cross-references so the law points to the new rule.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Griffith
VA • R
Cosponsors
Hern (OK)
OK • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Gonzalez, V.
TX • D
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Joyce (PA)
PA • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Correa
CA • D
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Balderson
OH • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Valadao
CA • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Pfluger
TX • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Dunn (FL)
FL • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Davis (NC)
NC • D
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Yakym
IN • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Weber (TX)
TX • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Miller-Meeks
IA • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
Scott, Austin
GA • R
Sponsored 3/18/2025
McCormick
GA • R
Sponsored 3/21/2025
Wilson (SC)
SC • R
Sponsored 3/24/2025
Harris (MD)
MD • R
Sponsored 3/25/2025
Van Duyne
TX • R
Sponsored 4/1/2025
Sessions
TX • R
Sponsored 4/7/2025
Evans (CO)
CO • R
Sponsored 4/7/2025
Tokuda
HI • D
Sponsored 4/7/2025
Onder
MO • R
Sponsored 4/17/2025
Higgins (LA)
LA • R
Sponsored 4/17/2025
Bice
OK • R
Sponsored 5/13/2025
Spartz
IN • R
Sponsored 6/6/2025
Bera
CA • D
Sponsored 6/6/2025
Cloud
TX • R
Sponsored 7/14/2025
Johnson (TX)
TX • D
Sponsored 9/18/2025
Kennedy (UT)
UT • R
Sponsored 10/3/2025
Moran
TX • R
Sponsored 10/3/2025
Smucker
PA • R
Sponsored 10/21/2025
Rulli
OH • R
Sponsored 11/17/2025
Carter (GA)
GA • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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