# 119-hr-7727: Sustaining Rural Healthcare Act

119-hr-7727, Sustaining Rural Healthcare Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Alford, Mark [R-MO-4] (R-MO); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7727
- 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-7727
- Congress: 119
- Title: Sustaining Rural Healthcare Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Alford, Mark [R-MO-4] (R-MO)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Protecting rural access to care** This bill would let Medicare temporarily stabilize at-risk rural hospitals by extending critical-access-like payments and creating a new "Critical Access in Character" designation. - Rural hospitals: Would allow facilities that would otherwise lose Critical Access Hospital eligibility to be deemed to meet the qualifying criterion for a period the Secretary sets, up to 3 years, if losing designation would reduce local access. It would also authorize a separate "Critical Access in Character" designation that pays inpatient and outpatient Medicare rates equivalent to Critical Access Hospitals during stabilization. - Patients and communities: Would help preserve inpatient and outpatient services in remote and underserved areas, including Tribal, persistent poverty, and frontier communities, by maintaining payment support while hospitals stabilize. - Federal support and oversight: Would require the Secretary to issue eligibility guidance, monitoring, and renewal rules within 12 months after enactment and allows collaboration with the Department of Agriculture to provide no-cost technical assistance through the Community Facilities Program.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15] (R-PA), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cuellar, Henry [D-TX-28] (D-TX), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Medicare boost for rural hospitals: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Secretary would be able to give a temporary "Critical Access in Character" designation to rural hospitals the Secretary finds critical to local care. Designated hospitals would receive Medicare inpatient and outpatient payments at rates equal to Critical Access Hospitals. The design…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7567: Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026
- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-7727 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7727)

## Related
- [119-hr-7567: Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7567)
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7727 (as of 2026-04-21).