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S 586 116th Congress Senate

Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2019

Official title: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services.

Introduced: February 27, 2019 See on congress.gov
Health Health care coverage and accessHealth facilities and institutionsHealth personnelHospital care
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MedicareRural conditions and development
This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) 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 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 27, 2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Feb 27, 2019
Introduced in Senate
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 Latest action February 27, 2019

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2019

This bill repeals the 96-hour physician-certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services under Medicare. Under current law, as a condition for Medicare payment for such services, a physician must certify that a patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.

 Related & companion bills 1
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 586: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-586/
MLA
"S. 586: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-586/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 586, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-586/.
Markdown link
[S. 586: Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-586/)
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