Rural Hospital Revitalization Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill creates a new loan program through the USDA's community facilities direct loan program that provides zero-percent interest loans to rural hospitals for building new facilities or renovating old ones.
• To qualify, a hospital must be in a county with fewer than 20,000 people, be a certain distance from the nearest hospital, or be designated as a critical access or rural emergency hospital. It must also have been licensed in its community for at least 30 years.
• The zero-interest period lasts for five years. After that, the government assesses whether the hospital is financially strong enough to refinance at normal rates. If the hospital is still struggling, it can apply for one five-year renewal of the zero-interest terms.
• There is also an interest rate protection option: even if a hospital is financially stable after five years, it can keep the zero-percent rate for another five years if the prevailing community facilities loan rate is above 2.5 percent.
• Priority goes to hospitals in the most remote areas (fewer than 6 people per square mile), those serving high shares of Medicare, Medicaid, or self-pay patients, and those that cannot afford renovation at standard loan rates.
• Hospitals receiving these loans are also eligible for technical assistance grants to help with operational improvements and financial stability, delivered through HRSA and USDA rural development programs.

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Related Bills

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