S. 552 — CRITICAL Act

This section increases Medicare payment rates for specified services furnished by critical access hospitals (CAHs) located in a noncontiguous state to 105 percent of reasonable costs (from 101 percent), effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, as follows: (1) inpatient CAH services; (2) outpatient CAH services; (3) ambulance services furnished by such a CAH or by an entity owned and operated by such a CAH; and (4) covered skilled nursing facility services furnished under a swing-bed agreement by such a CAH. (As background, CAHs are small rural facilities reimbursed by Medicare at cost to support access to essential hospital services in underserved areas; noncontiguous states are Alaska and Hawaii.)