IntroducedIntroduced Apr 3, 2025

S. 1282: Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025

This legislation was introduced in the on 2025-04-03. It currently has a status of Introduced.

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AI Short Summary

This bill codifies the Department of Agriculture's Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program, which provides training and assistance to rural health facilities to help improve their operations, prevent closures, and better access federal loans and grants.

Agriculture Health Care Rural Development Federal Grants

Sponsors

Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]

Primary Sponsor (R-SD)

This bill would officially write into law a Department of Agriculture program that provides business advice, training, and planning assistance to rural hospitals and clinics to help keep them open, manage their finances, and upgrade their facilities.

Summary

The Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025 (S. 1282) formally codifies an existing administrative initiative within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill establishes a permanent Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program designed to help rural healthcare providers navigate financial struggles, modernize their operations, and successfully apply for federal loans and grants. By giving rural facilities tailored guidance, the bill aims to prevent hospital closures, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen the overall healthcare infrastructure in rural America.

Key Provisions

Program Codification: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program, either directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.
Eligible Facilities: Defines eligible facilities located in rural areas, including standard hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, rural health clinics, psychiatric hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community health centers.
Tailored Technical Assistance: Requires the program to help facilities:
- Identify development needs (e.g., facility modernization, telehealth expansion, and electronic health record upgrades).
- Improve financial management and business strategies.
- Identify and apply for USDA grant and loan programs.
Prioritization Criteria: Directs the USDA to prioritize assistance for current borrowers or grant recipients of the Rural Housing Service, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and Rural Utilities Service. It also allows the USDA to prioritize based on a facility's age, financial vulnerability, electronic health record needs, and whether it serves a federally designated health professional shortage or medically underserved area.
Annual Reporting: Mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture submit an annual progress report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees detailing the costs, locations, and outcomes of completed projects.
Funding Authorization: Authorizes appropriations of up to $2,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2025 through 2029 to carry out the program.

Impact Analysis

For Rural Communities: Rural hospitals frequently face severe financial strain, sometimes leading to closures that leave residents without local emergency or primary care. By offering targeted business and operational planning, this program aims to prevent these closures and preserve essential local healthcare access.
For Rural Healthcare Providers: Eligible clinics and hospitals will gain access to specialized administrative support to modernize their facilities—such as upgrading telehealth capabilities and transitioning to modern electronic health records—while receiving hands-on help to secure competitive USDA loans and grants.
For the Federal Government: Codifying this program moves it from a temporary administrative initiative to a permanent, legally structured program. The mandatory annual reports to Congress will increase transparency, allowing lawmakers to assess the program's return on investment and its direct impact on rural healthcare stabilization.

Co-Sponsors (7)

Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL]

Co-Sponsor (R-AL)

Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]

Co-Sponsor (D-NM)

Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS]

Co-Sponsor (R-MS)

Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA]

Co-Sponsor (R-PA)

Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA]

Co-Sponsor (D-GA)

Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]

Co-Sponsor (D-CA)

Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT]

Co-Sponsor (D-VT)

Bill Rendering

119 S1282 IS: Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025U.S. Senate2025-04-03text/xmlENPursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1282

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 3, 2025 Mr. Rounds (for himself and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To codify the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program of the Department of Agriculture.

This Act may be cited as the "Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025".

(a)

In this section:

(1)

The term development needs means—

(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 determines to be critical to maintaining health care services in the community in which an eligible hospital facility is located.

(2)

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 (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)));

(ii)

a psychiatric hospital (as defined in section 1861(f) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(f)));

(iii)

a long-term care hospital (as defined in section 1861(ccc) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ccc)));

(iv)

a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm)(1)));

(v)

a religious nonmedical health care institution (as defined in section 1861(ss)(1) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ss)(1)));

(vi)

a rural health clinic (as defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(2)));

(vii)

a sole community hospital (as defined in section 1886(d)(5)(D)(iii) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(D)(iii)));

(viii)

a rural emergency hospital (as defined in section 1861(kkk)(2) of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(kkk)(2)));

(ix)

a community health center receiving funding under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b); or

(x)

any other rural hospital, as determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and

(B)

located in a rural area.

(3)

The term health professional shortage area has the meaning given the term in section 332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254e(a)(1)(A)).

(4)

The term medically underserved area has the meaning given the term in section 330I(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14(a)(4)).

(5)

The term medically underserved population has the meaning given the term in section 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(b)(3)).

(6)

The term Program means the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program established under subsection (b).

(7)

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

(8)

The term rural area has the meaning given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)).

(b)

In lieu of any other authority under which the Secretary may provide technical assistance to any eligible hospital facility, the Secretary shall establish, and maintain, directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, a Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program to provide technical assistance and training, tailored to the capacity and needs of each eligible hospital facility, to help eligible hospital facilities—

(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 the financial and business strategies of the eligible hospital facilities; and

(3)

identify, and apply for assistance from, loan and grant programs of the Department of Agriculture for which the eligible hospital facilities are eligible.

(c)

The goals of the Program shall be—

(1)

to improve the long-term financial position and operational efficiency of eligible hospital facilities;

(2)

to prevent the closure of eligible hospital facilities;

(3)

to strengthen the delivery of health care in rural areas; and

(4)

to help eligible hospital facilities better access and compete for loans and grants from programs administered by the Department of Agriculture.

(d)

(1)

The Secretary shall engage in outreach and engagement strategies to encourage eligible hospital facilities to participate in the Program.

(2)

In selecting eligible hospital facilities to participate in the Program, the Secretary—

(A)

shall give priority to borrowers of loans and recipients of grants from the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service; and

(B)

may consider—

(i)

the age and physical state of the hospital or clinic facilities involved;

(ii)

the financial vulnerability of the hospital or clinic facilities, and the ability of the hospital or clinic facilities to meet debt obligations;

(iii)

the electronic health record implementation needs of the hospital or clinic facilities;

(iv)

whether the hospital or clinic is located in a health professional shortage area or a medically underserved area;

(v)

whether the hospital serves a medically underserved population; and

(vi)

such other criteria and priorities as are determined by the Secretary.

(e)

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 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, including—

(1)

a brief description of each project to provide technical assistance to an eligible hospital facility, 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 determines to be 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)

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section not more than $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.

Official Source

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