No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a Rural Health Care Facility Stabilization Assistance Program under which the Secretary of Agriculture provides loans and loan guarantees to eligible rural health centers in financial distress (i.e., operating margin below 5 percent, low cash reserves, risk of service loss, or other indicators determined by the Secretary) to prevent closures or reductions in essential services and to restore such services. Eligible health centers include rural subsection (d) hospitals, critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals, Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals, low-volume hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, rural health clinics, Federally qualified health centers, community mental health centers, section 330 Public Health Service Act grant recipients, opioid treatment programs, and certified community behavioral health clinics that are located in a rural area (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 343(a)(13)(A)), serve a rural community with a hospital where at least 60% of patients reside in a rural area, or have at least 30% of patients residing in a rural area. The Secretary may prioritize assistance to sole community providers, those in high-poverty areas (20% or more poverty rate), personal health services shortage areas, and hospitals providing critical emergency or safety-net services; loan proceeds may be used to acquire, repair, or upgrade facilities and equipment; cover operational costs such as supplies and payroll (excluding bonuses); make debt payments, provide working capital, maintain service lines, bridge reimbursement gaps, refinance high-interest debt, or for other Secretary-approved activities. Within 18 months of enactment, the Secretary must report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on program activities and outcomes—including effects on assisted facilities' financial stability—and publicly release a summary omitting personal or financial information about individual health centers.