H.R. 6596 modifies Medicare's rules for which hospitals can qualify as "rural emergency hospitals," a special designation that affects how certain facilities receive Medicare payment. The bill expands eligibility by allowing hospitals that operated as off-campus emergency departments between January 1, 2015, and a future end date to become rural emergency hospitals, provided they were in rural counties and functioned as dedicated emergency departments. This change benefits rural healthcare facilities and the communities they serve by potentially expanding access to emergency care in underserved areas. The bill does not specify new federal funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond the retroactive January 2015 start date. Introduced in December 2025 by Representatives Schmidt and Estes, the bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
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.