H.R. 772 explained · 119th Congress · Pending in Congress
Rural ER Access Act
Cosponsors: none · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-12
Introduced: 2025-01-28
Latest action (2025-01-28): Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
What H.R. 772 does, in plain terms
Rural ER Access Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to repeal regulations that require off-campus facilities to be located within 35 miles of the main hospital or critical access hospital in order to receive provider-based status under Medicare (i.e., to be considered as hospital outpatient departments for purposes of Medicare payment).
Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.
Constitution Index
“VFA Constitution grade”
Constitutionally sound
Graded 2026-10-13
SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology
This bill is fully constitutional. It directs a federal agency to repeal a regulation, which is a proper exercise of Congress's enumerated power to regulate Medicare spending under the Spending Clause. It does not infringe any constitutional right, restrict individual sovereignty, or violate due process. The action is appropriately taken at the federal level because Medicare is a federal program.
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✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
Congress has authority under Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 (the Spending Clause) to set conditions on federal spending, including Medicare. Requiring CMS to repeal a regulation that restricts provider-based status is a valid exercise of Congress's power to define the terms of Medicare participation. -
✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
The bill does not restrict speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, fair trial, jury, cruel and unusual punishment, or any other right protected by the Bill of Rights. It merely changes a regulatory distance requirement for Medicare reimbursement. -
✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
The bill does not restrict what individuals may do with their person, property, speech, labor, or belief. It removes a federal regulatory barrier, potentially expanding access to healthcare facilities. No individual right is burdened. -
✓ Passes · Decentralization
The four-question test: (1) An individual cannot unilaterally change Medicare regulations; (2) a local community cannot alter federal Medicare rules; (3) a state cannot override federal Medicare conditions; (4) the action does not consolidate power upward—it is already at the federal level because Medicare is a federal program. The bill passes all four questions because the subject matter (Medicar… -
✓ Passes · Due process and takings
The bill does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process. It does not take private property for public use without just compensation. It merely directs an agency to repeal a regulation, which is a routine legislative action with no due process or takings implications.
Sources: Congress.gov: HR 772 summary
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