Bill Details
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This bill would create a new Office of Rural Health inside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The office would be led by a director and would serve as the main CDC contact for rural health issues. Its job would be to help the CDC better understand the health problems people in rural areas face, improve research and outreach, share useful public health practices, and support better care and services, including telehealth. The bill also calls for the office to help identify gaps in health care for rural communities and to work with other federal offices so efforts are better coordinated and not repeated.
- Set up an Office of Rural Health within the CDC under the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Make the office the CDC’s main point of contact for rural health matters and assign it a director.
- Require the office to support research, education, and outreach on rural health problems, including ways to prevent disease, injury, and disability.
- Allow the office to award grants, agreements, and contracts to help improve health care in rural areas, and to work with the Health Resources and Services Administration’s rural health office to avoid overlap.
Official Summaries
Rural Health Focus Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the Office of Rural Health (ORH) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC established the ORH in 2023 in response to a congressional directive, and it currently leads the CDC’s rural public health strategy.
Specifically, the bill requires the CDC to establish the ORH and select a director to head the ORH. The bill specifies the duties and authorities of the ORH director, including improving understanding of particular challenges and implementing programs to improve health care for rural populations.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 403 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 403
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an
Office of Rural Health, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 5, 2025
Mrs. Hyde-Smith (for herself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an
Office of Rural Health, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Health Focus Act''.
SEC. 2. CDC OFFICE OF RURAL HEALTH.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
shall establish within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
an office to be known as the Office of Rural Health, to be headed by a
director selected by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
(b) Duties and Authorities.--The duties and authorities of the
Director of the Office of Rural Health shall be limited to the
following:
(1) Serving as the primary point of contact in the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention on matters pertaining to
rural health.
(2) Assisting the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in conducting, coordinating, and
promoting research regarding public health issues affecting
rural populations, and in disseminating the results of such
research.
(3) Working with all personnel and offices of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention to develop, refine,
coordinate, and promulgate policies, best practices, lessons
learned, and innovative, successful programs to improve care
and services (including through telehealth) for rural
populations.
(4) Coordinating and supporting rural health research,
conducting and supporting educational outreach, and
disseminating evidence-based interventions related to health
outcomes, access to health care, and lifestyle challenges, to
prevent death, disease, injury, and disability, and promote
healthy behaviors in rural populations.
(5) Improving the understanding of the health challenges
faced by rural populations.
(6) Identifying disparities in the availability of health
care and public health interventions for rural populations.
(7) Awarding and administering grants, cooperative
agreements, and contracts to provide technical assistance and
other activities as necessary to support activities related to
improving health and health care in rural areas.
(8) Coordinating with the Federal Office of Rural Health
Policy of the Health Resources and Services Administration, as
needed, to facilitate cooperation on rural health initiatives
and avoid duplication of efforts.
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