WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today introduced the Rural Emergency Hospital Adjustment Act that would allow previously closed rural hospitals to potentially re-open and apply for the Rural Emergency Hospital designation if they can demonstrate they met all eligibility requirements between Jan. 1, 2015 and Dec. 27, 2020.

The REH designation was created as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to enable certain hospitals to convert to the new Medicare provider designation, which helps rural hospitals to continue operating with limited services rather than closing. Currently, hospitals are only eligible for the designation if they met the requirements when the legislation was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.

 “Access to outpatient and emergency services often determines if a rural community can survive,” said Sen. Moran. “More than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2015, and this legislation will allow these hospitals an opportunity to re-open and serve their communities.”

The Rural Emergency Hospital Adjustment Act would extend the eligibility date back to Jan. 1, 2015, for hospitals that were either critical access hospitals or rural hospitals with no more than 50 beds.

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