H.R. 6596

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 6596 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6596 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the eligibility for the rural emergency hospital designation under the Medicare program. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 10, 2025 Mr. Schmidt (for himself and Mr. Estes) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust the eligibility for the rural emergency hospital designation under the Medicare program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. ADJUSTING ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL EMERGENCY HOSPITAL DESIGNATION UNDER MEDICARE. Section 1861(kkk)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(kkk)(3)) is amended-- (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``as of'' and inserting ``, at any point during the period beginning on January 1, 2015, and ending on''; (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the end; (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: ``(C) was an off-campus outpatient department of a hospital (as defined in section 1833(t)(21)(B)) that-- ``(i) was a dedicated emergency department (as defined in section 489.24(b) of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation)); and ``(ii) was located in a county (or equivalent unit of local government) in a rural area (as defined in section 1886(d)(2)(D)).''. <all>