H.R. 489: Protecting Rural Access to Care Act
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H.R. 489: Protecting Rural Access to Care Act
117th Congress · introduced 2021-01-25 · Health · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2021-01-25 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Protecting Rural Access to Care Act
Plain summary
Protecting Rural Access to Care Act This bill limits the scope of guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the secondary road criteria for Medicare critical access hospitals (CAHs). Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH under Medicare, a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (15 miles in mountainous regions or areas with only secondary roads) from another hospital, or (2) have been certified prior to January 1, 2006, by the state as a necessary provider of services in the area. The CMS issued guidance on July 31, 2015, that provided more detail as to the differences between primary and secondary roads for purposes of CAH certification. The bill specifies that this guidance does not apply to CAHs that were certified prior to July 31, 2015, and that these CAHs are instead subject to the standards that were in place before the guidance was issued. Ongoing CAH certifications are also subject to pre-guidance standards until the CMS issues new guidance after a specified public comment period.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Protecting Rural Access to Care Act
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] · 3 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Claudia Tenney (R-NY)
Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] reported raising $5.0 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (2)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Public comment
- A chance for anyone to tell a government agency what they think about a proposed rule or plan before it is final. Agencies must consider the comments they receive.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117hr489.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/hr>
Record fed-us-cong117-hr489 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117