Rural Health Care Capital Access Act of 2006

RURAL HEALTH CARE CAPITAL ACCESS ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - May 09, 2006)

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Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, l rise in strong support of H.R. 4912, the ``Rural Health Care Capital Access Act of 2006'', of which I am an original sponsor. The Committee on Financial Services marked-up H.R. 4912 on March 13, 2006, so I am delighted that this important measure has reached the floor today. Mr. Ney, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Affairs, is to be applauded for his efforts on behalf of rural communities.

The bill would allow hospitals located in rural areas access to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program for hospitals, under Section 242 of the National Housing Act. These hospitals are located in rural areas of the country, and are not always able to meet the bed capacity requirements for critical care facilities. Thus, the bill would extend the exemption for another 5 years, enabling rural hospitals to be exempted from critical bed requirements.

The bill addresses the mortgage insurance needs of Critical Access Hospitals. These hospitals are rural hospitals with a maximum of 25 beds and must be 35 miles from the nearest hospital. Another requirement is related to the so-called ``patient day'' requirement. Under Section 242, not more than 50 percent of a hospital's adjusted net patient days could be ``assignable to the categories of chronic convalescent and rest, drug and alcoholic, epileptic, mentally deficient, mental, nervous and mental, and tuberculosis . . .'' These are onerous requirements for small rural hospitals to meet. When we passed the Hospital Insurance Mortgage Act of 2003, it eliminated the patient day requirement, but it expires on July 31, 2006.

By supporting H.R. 4912 to extend the exemption for another 5 years, we will be addressing an issue of major concern in rural areas. Hospitals are far and few apart. Within many of our rural communities hospitals double up with nursing homes to meet these bed requirements, as well as to share in cost savings, to qualify for Section 242 mortgage insurance. H.R. 4912 removes another barrier to health care in rural communities, and therefore, I urge support of the measure.

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