Rural Health Policy Update

Update provided by Andrew Coats, NOSORH Legislative Liaison 

Congress was out of session for the entire month of October. The House and Senate are scheduled to return on November 12 to begin a five-week “lame duck” session to close out the 118th Congress.

November 13 is a red letter day, as NOSORH will host members of Congress, congressional staff, and rural health partner organizations in the Senate Dirksen Building at 8:30 am ET for the 2nd annual National Rural Health Day Celebration on the Hill! House and Senate resolutions will also be introduced in both chambers recognizing National Rural Health Day and the importance of rural health care.  

Authorization Update: In late September, the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Authorization Act was introduced. The strong bipartisan bill (H.R. 9842) was introduced by Reps. Miller (R-WV), Sewell (D-AL), Carter (R-GA), Kuster (D-NH). Here is the bill text. NOSORH is planning to get a companion bill introduced in the Senate by November. The end goal is to get the RCORP authorization bill through Congress by the end of 2024.  

Flex: Work continues with members in the House and Senate to introduce a bipartisan-bicameral bill reauthorizing the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility program (Flex). Sponsors in the House and Senate have been working to get the legislative text finalized and are planning to introduce the bill in November.  

Appropriations: Congress wrapped up its September work period by passing a three-month continuing resolution (CR) that will continue to fund HHS and other federal agencies at FY 2024 levels through December 20, 2024. The stopgap spending measure prevents a government shutdown on October 1. The CR was the last major piece of legislative business on Congress’ agenda before adjourning for its pre-election recess. The CR also tees up a year-end omnibus legislative package, including Medicare telehealth flexibilities.  

Below are the FY 25 funding levels for rural health programs that have advanced out of the House and Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Committees:

Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility program
– House FY 2025: $74,277,000 of that amount, $25,942,000 for the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program
– Senate FY 2025: $64,277,000 of that amount, $40,942,000 for the SHIP
– FY 2024 enacted: $64,277,000 

State Offices of Rural Health grant program
– House FY 2025: $13,500,000
– Senate FY 2025: $14,500,000
– FY 2024 enacted: $12,500,000 

Rural Residency Planning and Development
– House FY 2025: $14,000,000
– Senate FY 2025: $14,000,000
– FY 2024 enacted: $12,700,000 

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program
– House FY 2025: $145,000,000
– Senate FY 2025: $155,000,000
– FY 2024 enacted: $145,000,000