# 119-hr-1480: Rural Health Innovation Act of 2025

119-hr-1480, Rural Health Innovation Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] (R-TN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1480
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1480
- Congress: 119
- Title: Rural Health Innovation Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Kustoff, David [R-TN-8] (R-TN)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Expands rural emergency and urgent care access** by creating two HRSA-run grant programs to help rural clinics and local health departments offer walk-in urgent care, triage, and staging for air or ambulance transport. It would fund five-year grants and program oversight through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Office of Rural Health Policy. - Rural clinics and community health centers would be eligible for the Rural Health Center Innovation Awards Program to set up or maintain Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) that serve as walk-in urgent care and triage hubs. First-year awards would top out at $750,000 for startups and $500,000 for existing centers, with renewals through year five. - Local rural health departments would be eligible for the Rural Health Department Enhancement Program to add emergency services, triage and transport support, primary care, equipment, and limited hiring and outreach. Annual grants would be capped at $500,000 and include hiring and outreach limits such as a 3 percent cap on provider hiring. - Patients in rural areas would gain more local capacity for labs, X-ray, cardiac monitoring and extended hours to stabilize patients and speed transfers to emergency departments. *Would authorize $25.0 million per year for each program from 2026 through 2030, totaling about $50.0 million annually and increasing federal spending during that period.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2025-02-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to expand rural urgent care: benefit, medium. If enacted, HHS would give 5-year grants to set up or keep rural health centers open for walk-in urgent care and triage. Eligible groups include existing FQHCs or Rural Health Clinics, or entities that agree to create or convert to one. First-year awards could be up to $500,000 for existing centers…
- Grants to strengthen rural health departments: benefit, medium. If enacted, HHS would award competitive grants to rural local health departments for emergency services, triage and transport, primary care, and ED-like services. Grants would run annually for up to five years, with up to $500,000 per year. Year 1 would be based on setup costs; years 2–5 would cons…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1480 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1480)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-2725: Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2725)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1480 (as of 2026-04-21).