Several key rural health programs at the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) need to be authorized in statute or are up for reauthorization.  

“Authorization” and “reauthorization” mean that programs need language in a statute in order to be established or continued. Generally, Congress must pass legislation to establish or continue programs, agencies, offices, or projects, and then Congress can fund these programs through the appropriations process. Find more information on authorizations here. 

The following programs are of utmost importance for Congress to reauthorize in 2025 to in order to support rural communities’ access to care and sustain the rural health infrastructure, workforce, and services: 

• Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) Grant Program
  • S. 3250, the Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act, reauthorizes the Flex program to help small rural Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) work on quality, financial, and performance improvement activities, as well as enhance emergency medical service (EMS) and access to care.
• Rural Health Outreach Services Programs
  • S. 2301/H.R. 2493, the Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act reauthorizes Outreach programs which expire at the end of 2025. The umbrella of Outreach programs improve rural health through community-driven initiatives focused on quality improvement, health care access, and coordination of care to foster sustainable solutions for chronic disease prevention and management in rural areas.

The following need an initial authorization in statute: 

• Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RRPD)
  • H.R. 6468, the Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Authorization Act will authorize the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, which provides federal grants to support start-up costs to establish new rural residency programs. 
• Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP)
  • H.R. 6407, the RCORP Authorization Act authorizes RCORP to reduce the factors that result in substance use disorder and opioid use disorder morbidity and mortality in high-need rural communities through rural-specific prevention, treatment, recovery, and workforce development efforts.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Rural Public Health (ORH)
  • S. 403/H.R. 3102, the Rural Health Focus Act, authorize the CDC ORH to serve as a focal point for rural public health and to implement a strategy to meet the unique public health challenges of rural populations across CDC programs and data.