§2. Rural health center innovation awards program
This section establishes the Rural Health Center Innovation Awards Program within the Public Health Service Act and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, to award grants to eligible entities to establish or maintain a Federally qualified health center (FQHC) or rural health clinic (RHC) that serves individuals in a rural area as a walk-in urgent care center and as a triage or staging facility for air or ambulance transport to an emergency department. As background, FQHCs and RHCs provide primary care and related services in underserved communities, and this program would support rural sites that add urgent care, emergency triage, and related clinical resources, including laboratories, x-ray machines, and cardiac monitors.
The section defines an eligible entity as an FQHC, an RHC, or an entity that agrees, as a condition of receiving a grant, to establish an FQHC or RHC, including a hospital that agrees to convert to an FQHC or RHC. It defines “rural area” by reference to the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Rural Health Policy’s eligibility standards for fiscal year 2025 and any later amended standard.
The section allows grant funds to be used to (1) expand hours of operation, (2) pay construction and renovation costs, or (3) carry out other activities needed to establish or maintain the required rural urgent care and triage services. It requires applicants to submit information at the time and in the manner the Secretary requires, and it requires applicants that are not already an FQHC or RHC to demonstrate the costs of equipment and staffing needed to establish the center or clinic. It also authorizes the Secretary to consider overlap with another grant-funded entity serving the same area and to prioritize applicants already operating as an FQHC or RHC when they apply.
The section sets each grant term at 5 years and allows renewal. It caps grant amounts at $500,000 for the first year if the recipient is already an FQHC or RHC, at $750,000 for the first year if the recipient is using the grant to establish an FQHC or RHC, and at $500,000 for each of years 2 through 5. It directs the Secretary to consider the number of patients treated and the type of treatment provided in determining renewal-year funding, subject to the annual cap.
The section requires the Secretary to report to specified House and Senate committees not later than 3 years after enactment on the program’s success, challenges, needed regulatory or legislative changes, savings to federal health care programs, increased access to care, and increased utilization of health services in rural areas. It also provides that a grant recipient does not lose FQHC or RHC status because of activities carried out under the program.