Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program within the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Under the bill, USDA must establish and maintain (directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement) a program to help eligible hospital facilities in rural areas with a population of 50,000 inhabitants or less.
The program must provide tailored technical assistance and training to hospital facilities to identify development needs for maintaining essential health care services and support action plans for financial, operational, and quality improvement projects to meet these needs. Development needs include (1) constructing, expanding, and modernizing health care facilities; (2) increasing telehealth capabilities; and (3) acquiring or upgrading health care information systems (e.g., electronic health records).
The program must also provide technical assistance and training to help hospital facilities to better manage their financial and business strategies and identify, and apply for assistance from, USDA loan and grant programs.
In selecting eligible hospital facilities to participate in the program, USDA must give priority to borrowers and grantees of certain USDA rural assistance programs.
USDA must also submit an annual report to Congress on the progress and results of the program.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4713 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4713
To codify the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program of the
Department of Agriculture.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 18, 2023
Mr. Jackson of Texas (for himself, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Zinke, Ms. Tokuda,
Mrs. Boebert, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Arrington, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Mann, Ms.
Wild, Mr. Sessions, Ms. Pettersen, Mr. Carl, Mr. Larsen of Washington,
Mr. LaMalfa, Ms. Schrier, Ms. Perez, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Ms.
Budzinski, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Pfluger, Mr.
Trone, and Mrs. Miller of West Virginia) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To codify the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program of the
Department of Agriculture.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Hospital Technical Assistance
Program Act''.
SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF THE RURAL HOSPITAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
(a) In General.--In lieu of any other authority under which the
Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as the
``Secretary'') may provide technical assistance to any eligible rural
hospital facility, the Secretary shall establish, and maintain,
directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, a Rural
Hospital Technical Assistance Program (in this section referred to as
the ``Program'') to provide technical assistance and training, tailored
to the capacity and needs of each eligible hospital facility, to help
eligible hospital facilities in rural areas with a population of not
more than 50,000 inhabitants--
(1) identify development needs for maintaining essential
health care services, and support action plans for financial,
operational, and quality improvement projects to meet the
development needs;
(2) better manage their financial and business strategies;
and
(3) identify, and apply for assistance from, loan and grant
programs of the Department of Agriculture for which the
facilities are eligible.
(b) Goals.--The goals of the Program shall be to--
(1) improve the long-term financial position and
operational efficiency of eligible rural hospital facilities;
(2) prevent the closure of eligible rural hospital
facilities;
(3) strengthen the delivery of health care in rural areas;
and
(4) help eligible rural hospital facilities better access
and compete for loans and grants from programs administered by
the Department of Agriculture.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Development needs.--The term ``development needs''
includes--
(A) constructing, expanding, renovating or
otherwise modernizing health care facilities;
(B) increasing telehealth capabilities;
(C) acquiring or upgrading health care information
systems such as electronic health records; and
(D) such other needs as the Secretary deems
critical to maintaining health care services in the
community in which an eligible rural hospital facility
is located.
(2) Eligible hospital facility.--The term ``eligible
hospital facility'' means a facility that is--
(A)(i) a hospital (as defined in section 1861(e) of
the Social Security Act);
(ii) a psychiatric hospital (as defined in section
1861(f) of such Act);
(iii) a long-term care hospital (as defined in
section 1861(ccc) of such Act);
(iv) a critical access hospital (as defined in
section 1861(mm)(1) of such Act);
(v) a religious nonmedical health care institution
(as defined in section 1861(ss)(1) of such Act);
(vi) a rural health clinic (as defined in section
1861(aa)(2) of such Act);
(vii) a sole community hospital (as defined in
section 1886(d)(5)(C)(iii) of such Act);
(viii) a rural emergency hospital (as defined in
section 1861(kkk)(2) of such Act);
(ix) a community health center (as defined in
section 330 of the Public Health Service Act); or
(x) any other rural hospital as determined by the
Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services; and
(B) located in a rural area.
(3) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' has the meaning
given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act.
(4) Health professional shortage area.--The term ``health
professional shortage area'' has the meaning given the term in
section 332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act).
(5) Medically underserved area.--The term ``medically
underserved area'' has the meaning given the term in section
330I(a)(5) of the Public Health Service Act.
(6) Medically underserved population.--The term ``medically
underserved population'' has the meaning given the term in
section 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act.
(d) Program Participation.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall engage in outreach and
engagement strategies to encourage eligible hospital facilities
to participate in the Program.
(2) Hospital selection.--In selecting eligible hospital
facilities to participate in the Program, the Secretary shall
give priority to borrowers and grantees of the Rural Housing
Service, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and Rural
Utilities Service. The Secretary may also consider--
(A) the age and physical state of the hospital or
clinic facilities involved;
(B) the financial vulnerability of the hospital or
clinic facilities, and the ability of the hospital or
clinic facilities to meet debt obligations;
(C) the electronic health record implementation
needs of the hospital or clinic facilities;
(D) whether the hospital or clinic is located in a
health professional shortage area or a medically
underserved area;
(E) whether the hospital serves a medically
underserved population; and
(F) such other criteria and priorities as are
determined by the Secretary.
(e) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate a written report describing the progress and
results of the program conducted under this section, which should
include--
(1) a brief description of each project to provide
technical assistance to an eligible hospital facility under
this section, including--
(A) the name and location of the facility;
(B) a description of the assistance provided;
(C) a description of the outcomes for completed
projects;
(D) the cost of the technical assistance; and
(E) any other information the Secretary deems
appropriate;
(2) a summary of the technical assistance projects
completed;
(3) a summary of the outcomes of the technical assistance
projects;
(4) an assessment of the effectiveness of the Program; and
(5) recommendations for improving the Program.
(f) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
not more than $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
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