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CRITICAL Act

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the treatment of critical access hospital services furnished by a critical access hospital located in a noncontiguous State.

Introduced Feb 12, 2025

Latest action (Feb 12, 2025) Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Referred to
Finance Committee
Policy area
Health
Issues
Healthcare

Summary
  • Increases Medicare reimbursement rates for inpatient critical access hospital services in noncontiguous states from 101 percent to 105 percent, effective January 1, 2026
  • Increases Medicare reimbursement rates for outpatient critical access hospital services in noncontiguous states from 101 percent to 105 percent, effective January 1, 2026
  • Increases Medicare reimbursement rates for ambulance services provided by critical access hospitals in noncontiguous states from 101 percent to 105 percent, effective January 1, 2026
  • Increases Medicare reimbursement rates for skilled nursing facility services provided by critical access hospitals in noncontiguous states from 101 percent to 105 percent, effective January 1, 2026

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)
1 cosponsor

Actions (2)
  1. Feb 12, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. · senate
  2. Feb 12, 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.

  • S 521 — Supporting Access to Rural Community Hospitals Act of 2025 · Introduced Feb 11, 2025 · Cong. 119 78%
  • S 502 — Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2025 · Introduced Feb 10, 2025 · Cong. 119 77%
  • HR 538 — Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2025 · Introduced Jan 16, 2025 · Cong. 119 77%
  • HR 4345 — To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the definition of critical access hospital under the Medicare program to include certain hospitals on Indian reservations. · Introduced Jul 10, 2025 · Cong. 119 73%
  • HR 4258 — To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand the definition of critical access hospital under the Medicare program to include certain hospitals on Indian reservations. · Introduced Jun 30, 2025 · Cong. 119 73%
  • S 575 — I CAN Act · Introduced Feb 13, 2025 · Cong. 119 72%

Full text

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 12, 2025

Mr. Sullivan (for himself and Mr. Schatz) 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 treatment of critical access hospital services furnished by a critical access hospital located in a noncontiguous State.

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 “Comprehensive Reimbursement Initiative Targeting Investment and Care in rural Locations” or the “CRITICAL Act”.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS LOCATED IN A NONCONTIGUOUS STATE.

(a) Inpatient Critical Access Hospital Services.—Section 1814(l)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(l)(1)) is amended by inserting “(or, in the case of inpatient critical access hospital services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, by a critical access hospital that is located in a noncontiguous State, 105 percent)” after “101 percent”.

(b) Outpatient Critical Access Hospital Services.—Section 1834(g)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(g)(1)) is amended by inserting “(or, in the case of outpatient critical access hospital services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, by a critical access hospital that is located in a noncontiguous State, 105 percent)” after “101 percent”.

(c) Ambulance Services.—Section 1834(l)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(l)(8)) is amended by inserting “(or, in the case of ambulance services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, by a critical access hospital that is located in a noncontiguous State or by an entity that is owned and operated by a critical access hospital that is located in a noncontiguous State, 105 percent)” after “101 percent”.

(d) Skilled Nursing Facility Services.—Section 1883(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395tt(a)(3)) is amended by inserting “(or, in the case of covered skilled nursing facility services furnished on or after January 1, 2026, under an agreement under this section by a critical access hospital that is located in a noncontiguous State, 105 percent)” after “101 percent”. <all>

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