S. 607

Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2015

This bill amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to extend the period of the Medicare rural community hospital demonstration program from 5 to 10 years.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall allow certain rural community hospitals participating in the demonstration program as of December 30, 2014, to continue during the second five years of the 10-year extension period.

HHS shall solicit applications to select up to the maximum number of additional rural community hospitals located in any state to participate in this demonstration program for the second five years of the ten-year extension period without exceeding the applicable limitation (30).

In determining which applicant rural community hospitals to select for participation in the demonstration program, HHS:

• shall give priority to hospitals located in one of the 20 states with the lowest population densities; and
• may consider closures of hospitals located in rural areas in the state in which the hospital is located during the 5-year period immediately preceding the enactment of this Act, as well as the population density of the state.