This bill changes the wording in the Social Security Act that is used to decide whether a clinic qualifies as a rural health clinic for Medicare. It replaces the phrase "an urbanized area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census)" with "an urban area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census) with a population of 50,000 or more." The amendment applies starting January 1, 2027. The bill was introduced in the House on September 8, 2025, and was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and to the Committee on Ways and Means.
The rule used to decide if a clinic counts as a rural health clinic for Medicare will be tied to whether the Census-designated urban area has 50,000 or more people. This change could affect whether some clinics meet the location standard for rural clinic status under Medicare. The bill text does not list specific places or clinics that would be affected.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information on proponents' stated reasons in the bill text. The bill was introduced by Representative Tracey Mann with multiple co-sponsors listed in the bill metadata.
No publicly available information.