To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include certain areas within the frontier and remote area levels designations.

Bill: 113-hr-5592
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Gabbard, Tulsi [D-HI-2]
Introduced: 2014-09-18
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Alaska

Department of Health and Human Services

Hawaii

Health care coverage and access

Health programs administration and funding

Rural conditions and development
Latest action: action_date: 2014-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-09-18
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in developing methodology for designating areas with limited access to goods and services generally only found in urban areas (e.g., advanced medical care) as frontier and remote (FAR) areas, to: (1) designate as a FAR area any area in Hawaii or Alaska that the state designates as rural for a federal program, and (2) include, in addition to otherwise defined levels of remoteness for FAR areas, a level for areas with unique characteristics that should qualify those areas to be designated as FAR areas.</p>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5592 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2014 Ms. Gabbard (for herself and Mr. Young of Alaska ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include certain areas within the frontier and remote area levels designations.

1. Modifying HRSA methodology for designation of frontier and remote areas Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in developing the methodology for the designation of frontier and remote areas published in the Federal Register on May 5, 2014 (79 Fed. Reg. 25599), the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall— (1) designate as a frontier area any area in Hawaii or Alaska that is defined or designated as rural under the law of the respective State for purposes of determining whether the area qualifies as rural for a Federal program; and (2) include, in addition to the frontier and remote area levels otherwise defined pursuant to such methodology, a level (developed in accordance with a process established by the Secretary) for areas that have unique characteristics (such as being geographically isolated) that should qualify such areas for such designation.