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To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the continued designation of hospitals that met mountainous terrain or secondary roads distance requirement as critical access hospitals and to modify distance requirements for ambulance services furnished by critical access hospitals.
Summary
This bill preserves the critical access hospital designation for certain rural hospitals that previously met distance requirements based on mountainous terrain or secondary roads, even if new facilities are built nearby after the bill's enactment. Hospitals must demonstrate they met the 15-mile distance requirement at their last certification as a critical access hospital. The bill also modifies Medicare payment rules for ambulance services furnished by critical access hospitals in mountainous areas or areas with only secondary roads available, reducing the distance requirement from 35 miles to 15 miles, effective January 1, 2026. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must issue implementing regulations within one year of enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
4 cosponsors
- Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY)
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV)
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA)
Actions (2)
- Jun 5, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. · senate
- Jun 5, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2025
Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Justice, Mr. Schiff, and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the continued designation of hospitals that met mountainous terrain or secondary roads distance requirement as critical access hospitals and to modify distance requirements for ambulance services furnished by critical access hospitals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Preserving Emergency Access in Key Sites Act” or the “PEAKS Act”.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF HOSPITALS THAT MET MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN OR SECONDARY ROADS DISTANCE REQUIREMENT FOR DESIGNATION AS CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITAL.
Section 1820(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-4(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(4) Treatment of hospitals that met mountainous terrain or secondary roads distance requirement for designation.—
“(A) In general.—In the case of a hospital described in subparagraph (B), the hospital shall be deemed to meet the 15-mile distance requirement for mountainous terrain or secondary roads described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i)(I) on or after January 1, 2026.
“(B) Hospital described.—A hospital described in this subparagraph is a hospital that—
“(i) as of the date of enactment of this paragraph, is designated as a critical access hospital;
“(ii) demonstrates (in a manner determined by the Secretary) that the hospital met the 15- mile distance requirement for mountainous terrain or secondary roads described in subsection (c)(2)(B)(i)(I) as of the hospital’s last certification as a critical access hospital; and
“(iii) after such date of enactment, has a new hospital or other facility described in this subsection located within 10-15 miles of the hospital.
“(C) Regulations.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out this paragraph.”.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DISTANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR AMBULANCE SERVICES FURNISHED BY CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS.
Section 1834(l)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(l)(8)) is amended, in the flush matter following subparagraph
(B), by inserting “(or, for such services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, in the case of mountainous terrain or in areas with only secondary roads available, a 15-mile drive)” after “35-mile drive”. <all>
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