# 119-hr-8347: RURAL Healthcare Act

119-hr-8347, RURAL Healthcare Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8347
- As of: 2026-11-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8347
- Congress: 119
- Title: RURAL Healthcare Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-04-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-11-03

## Summary

**Classifies certain locum tenens clinicians as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act.** It would let qualifying temporary physicians and advanced practice clinicians be treated as non-employees to support staffing flexibility in underserved, rural, and local health settings. - Clinicians: Qualifying locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners would be treated as independent contractors if they provide temporary services for not more than one continuous year at a single site and have a written contract stating they are not employees. - Rural and local health providers: Hospitals and clinics could more easily hire temporary physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified registered nurse anesthetists for coverage and scheduling needs. - Labor law effects: For FLSA and NLRA purposes those qualifying individuals would not be employees, which changes how federal wage rules and collective bargaining rights apply.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2026-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New rule for temporary clinicians: mixed, medium. This bill would treat certain temporary clinicians as independent contractors for two federal labor laws. It would apply to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. The rule would only apply when services last no more than one continuous ye…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
- 119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act
- 119-hr-3105: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8347 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8347)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-21: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-21)
- [119-hr-6976: Duty Status Reform Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6976)
- [119-hr-3105: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3105)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8347 (as of 2026-11-03).