S. 644: Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2021

117th Congress · introduced 2021-03-09 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S1426)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2021-03-09 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S1426) 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2021

Plain summary

Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2021 This bill allows additional hospitals to qualify as critical access hospitals (CAHs) that receive special payment under Medicare. Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH under Medicare, a hospital must either (1) be located more than 35 miles (or 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 bill allows a hospital to also qualify if the hospital is a small, rural hospital that (1) serves a health professional shortage area, or a high number of low-income individuals or Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries; (2) has experienced financial losses for two consecutive years; and (3) attests to having a strategic plan to address financial solvency. In addition, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation must test a new delivery and payment model for rural hospitals that promotes financially sustainable access to care and must establish a corresponding transition process for CAHs.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act of 2021

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] · 10 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

James Lankford (R-OK), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Boozman (R-AR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] reported raising $84,084 (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 (1)

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Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s644.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s644 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117