The Rural Hospital Flexibility Act of 2024 modifies federal grant programs designed to support rural hospitals under Medicare. The bill expands the types of rural healthcare facilities eligible for federal funding to include rural emergency hospitals and rural health clinics, and adds new grants specifically for helping critical access hospitals convert to rural emergency hospitals. The legislation creates additional opportunities for federal grants to support rural healthcare transformation, including support for behavioral health, substance use disorder services, and transitions to new care models like extended stay clinics and freestanding emergency departments. State Offices of Rural Health would receive grants to assist eligible small rural hospitals with software, staff training, and operational improvements. The bill authorizes 5-year grants for rural health care providers making these transitions, though grants would only be awarded to providers with documented local support and letters of endorsement from state Medicaid programs and private insurers.
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