Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025
Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025 - Summary **What the Bill Does:** This bill would create an official government program to help rural hospitals improve their operations and services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would establish a technical assistance program that provides expert guidance and training to hospitals in rural areas (communities with populations of 50,000 or fewer).
The program would help these hospitals identify what they need to stay financially healthy and deliver quality care, then support them in making improvements. **Key Provisions & Who It Affects:** The assistance would cover areas like building or upgrading hospital facilities, expanding telehealth (remote medical services), and implementing modern computer systems like electronic health records. The program could be run directly by USDA or through grants and contracts with other organizations. This primarily affects rural hospitals and the communities they serve, which often struggle to maintain adequate healthcare services and keep up with modern technology and infrastructure. **Current Status:** The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) and is currently in committee, meaning it's still in the early stages of consideration and has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.
CRS Official Summary
Rural Development Hospital Technical Assistance Program Act of 2025This bill provides statutory authority for the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program within the Department of Agriculture (USDA).Under the bill, USDA must establish and maintain (directly or by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement) a program to help eligible hospital facilities in rural areas (i.e., an area with a population of 50,000 inhabitants or less).The program must provide tailored technical assistance and training to hospital facilities to identify development needs for maintaining essential health care services and support action plans for financial, operational, and quality improvement projects to meet these needs. Development needs include (1) constructing, expanding, and modernizing health care facilities; (2) increasing telehealth capabilities; and (3) acquiring or upgrading health care information systems (e.g., electronic health records).The program must also provide technical assistance and training to help hospital facilities to better manage their financial and business strategies and identify, and apply for assistance from, USDA loan and grant programs.In selecting eligible hospital facilities to participate in the program, USDA must give priority to borrowers of loans and recipients of grants from certain USDA rural assistance programs.USDA must also submit an annual report to Congress on the progress and results of the program.
Latest Action
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.