On October 24, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) introduced the Rural Hospital Fairness Act, which would reinstate Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status for hospitals that were designated as such prior to 2002; still held active CAH status as of December 31, 2024; and that serves as the sole hospital in the county in which it is located. This version, introduced in the House of Representatives, is companion legislation to the Senate measure introduced last week by Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS).
The legislation comes in direct response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to revoke Glenn Medical Center’s CAH status earlier this year.
The hospital lost its status as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH)—a designation that allows rural facilities to receive enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements—after federal officials determined it was just 32 miles from the nearest alternative care facility. Current rules require a minimum distance of 35 miles to qualify.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), who makes the determination about CAH designation, used a rural backroad to recalculate the distance while admitting they do not know which route was used to originally give the designation to Glenn Medical. although no new roads or hospitals have been built since that time.
Glenn Medical Center had served the region for over two decades and was one of 40 CAH-designated hospitals in California. Its closure underscores the challenges rural communities face in maintaining access to essential healthcare services and the importance of flexible policy solutions that reflect local realities.
The text of the House measure is available here
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Sarah Dukett.