Rural Health Resilience Act of 2026

The Rural Health Resilience Act of 2026 creates a new program to provide loans and loan guarantees to struggling health facilities in rural areas to prevent them from closing or cutting essential services. This assistance is available to various types of rural hospitals, clinics, and behavioral health centers that demonstrate financial distress through metrics like low operating margins or insufficient cash reserves. The funds can be used for facility repairs, covering operational costs such as payroll and supplies, paying down debt, or bridging gaps in insurance reimbursements. Additionally, the program prioritizes support for sole community providers and areas with high poverty rates, and requires the Secretary of Agriculture to report on the program's outcomes to Congress within 18 months.