This bill expands eligibility and operational flexibility for rural emergency hospitals, which are small facilities in underserved areas that provide emergency care and limited inpatient services. The legislation broadens the window for hospitals to qualify for rural emergency hospital designation, allows certain facilities operating similarly to rural emergency hospitals to convert to this status, and permits these hospitals to maintain specialized units like psychiatric care, rehabilitation services, and obstetric facilities. The bill also increases Medicare payments for diagnostic laboratory tests performed by rural emergency hospitals by five percent starting January 1, 2027, to account for higher operational costs, and allows these hospitals to offer swing bed services similar to skilled nursing facilities. Additionally, the legislation extends Medicaid coverage to rural emergency hospital services, ensures rural emergency hospitals can participate in the National Health Service Corps program, and allows hospitals that revert from rural emergency hospital status back to critical access hospital designation to retain their "necessary provider" status for Medicare purposes.
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