H.R. 1417 establishes and expands a federal technical assistance program to help rural health care facilities improve their operations and financial stability. The bill renames and formalizes the existing Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program under the Department of Agriculture, broadening it to support not just hospitals but also rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, home health agencies, community health centers, and other rural health facilities. The program will provide tailored assistance including help with financial planning, operational improvements, electronic health records implementation, and identifying loans and grants from Agriculture Department programs. The bill prioritizes facilities in poor financial condition, those in medically underserved areas, and those that have previously borrowed from or received grants from USDA rural services. It authorizes up to $2 million per year from 2026 through 2030 to operate the program and requires annual progress reports to Congress detailing which facilities received assistance and what outcomes they achieved.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.