To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the definition of critical access hospital under the Medicare program to include certain hospitals on Indian reservations.
Sponsored By: Representative Newhouse
Introduced
Summary
This bill would expand Critical Access Hospital eligibility to include hospitals located on Indian reservations. It would let states designate reservation facilities as CAHs without regard to the usual geographic distance limits and would allow psychiatric and rehabilitation distinct part units without counting toward CAH bed limits, beginning August 1, 2025.
Show full summary
- Tribal hospitals and reservation facilities: Would be eligible for Critical Access Hospital designation even if they do not meet the usual distance-to-hospital rules. This change starts August 1, 2025.
- Psychiatric and rehabilitation units: A reservation CAH could create distinct part psychiatric or rehab units without the normal bed-count limit, and those units would not be counted when determining the hospital's primary services.
- State health agencies: Would have authority to designate qualifying reservation facilities as CAHs under the amended rules.
- Patients in tribal communities: Could gain closer inpatient care and more local behavioral health and rehabilitation options.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More Medicare hospital options on reservations
If enacted, starting August 1, 2025, a state could name a hospital on an Indian reservation as a Medicare critical access hospital even if it is near another hospital. These hospitals could add psychiatric and rehab units without the usual bed cap. Federal officials would not count those units when checking if the hospital meets the main service rules. Medicare patients on reservations could see closer care and more services.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Newhouse
WA • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Start a Free Government Policy Watch to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in