Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)
Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) helped introduce the Modernizing Rural Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Utilization Act, the Rural Health Clinic Location Modernization Act, and the Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act. The bipartisan package of legislation makes necessary updates and modifications to federal guidelines and regulations to modernize access to Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and improve services for more than 40 million Americans living in non-urban and rural communities. The bills also remove regulatory red tape and empower rural health care professionals to better meet the needs of the communities they serve.
“Rural health clinics face unique challenges delivering health care in their communities, challenges that have only been made worse because of President Trump and Republicans’ devastating cuts to Medicaid funding. I’m helping introduce these three pieces of legislation to cut red tape for rural health clinics to deliver care and expand services for mental health and substance use disorder,” said Congressman Pappas. “These bills are common sense and will deliver real reforms that our rural communities need. I’ll always work to expand access to high-quality, affordable care.”
The Modernizing Rural Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Utilization Act aligns federal regulations with Physician Assistant (PA) and Nurse Practitioner (NP) state scope of practice laws, enabling them to fully apply their advanced clinical skills to improve patient care. RHCs are currently subject to more restrictive rules than most state laws regarding PA and NP scope of practice. As a result, regardless of whether states allow a full scope of authority for NPs and PAs, those working in RHCs cannot practice independently. The Modernizing Rural Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Utilization Act removes these barriers and allows these professionals to practice to their full extent regardless of their place of employment.
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics, National Rural Health Association, National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners support this legislation.
The Rural Health Clinic Location Modernization Act modifies the statutory language for RHC certification to include areas with fewer than 50,000 people, extending eligibility to facilities in moderately sized communities and improving health care access for underserved populations. Under the 1977 statute that established RHCs, facilities were required to be in communities with less than 50,000 for eligibility purposes. However, the 2020 Census eliminated the “urbanized/non-urbanized” area definitions, limiting classification to urban with over 50,000 people or rural with under 5,000 people. The Rural Health Clinic Location Modernization Act eliminates the gray area left behind by this change, ensuring there is no uncertainty around future RHC eligibility.
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics, National Rural Health Association, and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health are supportive of this bill.
The Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act removes restrictions that currently prevent RHCs from providing behavioral health services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, to meet the needs of rural communities. Under current federal guidelines, these facilities can only offer up to 49% of their services as behavioral health. The Rural Behavioral Improvement Act removes the threshold on the amount of behavioral health services RHCs can provide while maintaining their certification.
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics, National Rural Health Association, American Psychological Association Services, National Association for Rural Mental Health, American Mental Health Counselors Association, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, National Association of Social Workers, and National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC & Affiliates) support the Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act.
Background:
Congressman Pappas is a steadfast advocate for lowering health care and prescription drug costs, expanding access to care, strengthening the industry’s workforce and training programs, and protecting vital programs that Granite Staters rely on, including Medicare and Medicaid. Pappas helped pass historic legislation that finally allowed the government to negotiate for lower drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, capped the cost of insulin at $35, and capped out-of-pocket medical expenses for Medicare recipients.
Pappas voted against the Republicans’ reconciliation bill every timeit came to the floor and filed two amendments to the Senate-passed Republican reconciliation bill to protect Granite Staters’ access to Medicaid and food assistance, and to prevent Congress from passing the burden of cuts to these programs onto the states; neither was adopted. He introduced the Protect Patients from Costly Care Act to repeal changes to Medicaid cost-sharing requirements and handouts to Big Pharma in the Republicans’ reconciliation tax and spending bill.
Earlier this year, Pappas helped introduce the Audio-Only Telehealth Access Act, which would make Medicare’s coverage of audio-only telehealth services permanent, the Advancing Enrollment and Reducing Drug Costs Act, which would expand low-income seniors’ access to prescription drugs under the Medicare prescription drug benefit program, also known as Medicare Part D, the Rural Health Innovation Act, which would strengthen access to care in rural areas by establishing a competitive grant program for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to increase staff, equipment, technology, and more, and theRestoring Essential Healthcare Act, which would repeal the federal ban on Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.