Defend Rural Health Act of 2026

HR 7409, the Defend Rural Health Act of 2026, prevents rural hospitals from being reclassified as urban Medicare facilities after October 1, 2029, unless they met specific criteria before October 1, 2026. The bill amends Medicare rules to block hospitals from retaining rural status beyond 2029, even if they applied for reclassification earlier. It also prohibits the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board from approving new reclassification requests for hospitals already treated as rural under current rules for fiscal years starting after October 1, 2026. This directly affects rural hospitals that rely on higher Medicare payments tied to their geographic classification. The law aims to maintain stable funding for rural hospitals by restricting future reclassifications.