This bill reauthorizes and expands the Rural Flex program under Medicare, which provides grants to support rural hospitals and clinics. The legislation extends funding indefinitely (changing the original end date) and broadens the program's scope to help critical access hospitals, rural health clinics, and rural emergency hospitals improve quality, address behavioral health and substance use disorders, and respond to public health emergencies. The bill also adds new grant activities including helping rural hospitals convert to emergency-only facilities and providing medical school residency position support and outreach to rural hospitals nationwide. Additionally, it establishes a new grant mechanism for State Offices of Rural Health to distribute funds equally among eligible small rural hospitals with fewer than 50 beds, which can use the money for software, staff training, and delivery system improvements. While the text does not specify exact funding amounts, it removes the previous sunset date and provides ongoing appropriations authority for the program's operations.
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