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HR 1248 105th Congress House

Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997

Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to permit classification of certain hospitals as rural referral centers, to permit reclassification of certain … Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to permit classification of certain hospitals as rural referral centers, to permit reclassification of certain hospitals for disproportionate share payments, and to permit sole community hospitals to rebase Medicare payments based upon fiscal year 1994 and 1995 costs.

Introduced: May 8, 1997 See on congress.gov
Health Administrative procedureCase mix (Medical care)Community hospitalsDepartment of Health and Human Services
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Government Operations and PoliticsHospital careHospital personnelHousing and Community DevelopmentLabor and EmploymentLawMedicareProspective payment systems (Medical care)Rural hospitalsSocial WelfareWages
This bill died when the 105th Congress ended
It never became law before the 105th Congress (1997–1998) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 5, 1997
See H.R.2015.
Apr 15, 1997
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Apr 8, 1997
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Apr 8, 1997
Introduced in House
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 Latest action August 5, 1997

See H.R.2015.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to a hospital which has ever been classified as a rural referral center, to prohibit denial of a request for its reclassification on the basis of any comparison between its average hourly wage and the average hourly wages of hospitals in the area in which it is located. Declares that any hospital classified as a rural referral center by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for FY 1991 shall be so classified for FY 1998 and each subsequent fiscal year.

Permits hospital geographic reclassification for purposes of disproportionate share payment adjustments. Permits rebasing of Medicare payment for sole community hospitals using FY 1994 and 1995 costs.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1248: Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997. 105th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-1248/
MLA
"H.R. 1248: Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997." 105th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-1248/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 1248, 105th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-1248/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 1248: Rural Health Care Protection Act of 1997](https://openamerica.io/bill/105-HR-1248/)
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