House bill would exempt labor and delivery beds from CAH limit

Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, introduced an American Hospital Association-supported bill that would ensure beds used solely for labor and delivery do not count toward the 25-bed limit for critical access hospitals. The Rural Maternity Options for Medical Support Act would strengthen access to maternity health services in rural areas by guaranteeing higher volume critical access hospitals have labor and delivery beds available, even if other patient beds are full. Other co-sponsors are Reps. Dain LaHood, R-Ill., Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, and Kim Schrier, D-Wash. Feenstra also introduced a bill that would extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration for five years. The AHA-supported demonstration program provides cost-based Medicare reimbursement for hospitals with fewer than 51 beds that do not qualify as CAHs. (AHA News article, 5/21/26)