Bennet, Moran Introduce Legislation to Revitalize Rural Hospitals

Mar 19, 2026| Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, and Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a member of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, introduced legislation that would help rural hospitals across the country modernize and rebuild aging infrastructure. The Rural Hospital Revitalization Act would provide zero-interest loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Community Facilities Program to qualifying hospitals for new construction or renovation of existing hospital facilities. This legislation would help hospitals deliver better care and ensure they can continue providing essential services to rural communities.

"Rural hospitals are a safety net for communities across the country, yet they have faced challenges with aging infrastructure and financial instability for years," said Bennet. "I'm grateful to have worked with rural hospitals on the ground in Colorado to write this legislation, which will help eligible facilities upgrade their infrastructure and expand capacity so that they can better serve their communities and create jobs today and into the future."

"Rural hospitals are critical to the well-being of the communities they serve in Kansas and across the country," said Moran. "By providing a pathway for qualifying rural hospitals to make needed renovations and facility upgrades, this legislation will help promote the long-term viability of rural hospitals and communities."

"Rural hospitals like Lincoln Health are caught in a fundamental catch-22," said Kevin Stansbury, CEO of Lincoln Health in Hugo, Colorado. "Many rural and frontier facilities were built decades ago with Hill-Burton funding and are now well beyond their useful life-but under the current USDA model, the very hospitals that need to modernize the most are often the least able to demonstrate repayment capacity. This legislation recognizes that access to safe, modern healthcare facilities is a matter of community need, not just financial metrics, and begins to correct a long-standing inequity for rural America."

"For rural and frontier hospitals in Colorado who have slim or negative margins, it can be nearly impossible to secure affordable capital to modernize aging infrastructure," said Jeff Tieman, President & CEO of the Colorado Hospital Association. "This bill creates a realistic pathway for rural hospitals to invest in up-to-date facilities without jeopardizing their long-term viability. For patients in Colorado, this means improved access to modern care closer to home by building stronger local health systems which can continue serving as the backbone of care in their communities. I am incredibly grateful to Senator Bennet for his leadership on this important topic."

"Rural hospitals are on the front lines of care for older, sicker populations, yet too many are operating in aging facilities without access to affordable capital," said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. "The Rural Hospital Revitalization Act takes an important, bipartisan approach to strengthening rural health infrastructure by utilizing existing USDA programs to deliver zero-interest capital to qualifying hospitals. This type of investment is essential to stabilizing rural health systems, preventing closures, and ensuring communities can access care close to home."

According to the National Rural Health Association, roughly 50% of America's rural hospitals aren't making a profit and are at a higher risk of closure. In the United States, the average age of a rural hospital is 60 years, but they frequently lack funding for revitalization projects and often struggle to secure loans for upgrades. This legislation seeks to close the gap by providing zero-interest loans to financially stable rural hospitals for new construction and facility upgrades so they can continue to provide first-class care.

To qualify for a loan, a hospital would need to meet the following criteria:

• Be located within a county of less than 20,000 residents; and
  • Located at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital (or at least 15 miles if the hospital is in an area with mountainous terrain or only secondary roads);
  • Designated as a Critical Access Hospital or a Rural Emergency Hospital;
• Have demonstrated need; and
• Be financially stable.

Bennet remains committed to ensuring that Coloradans in rural areas have access to the best health care available. In November 2025, Bennet joined Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in designating November 20, 2025, as National Rural Health Day. In July 2025, Bennet and Barrasso introduced the Accelerating the Development of Advanced Psychology Trainees Act, bipartisan legislation to increase access and coverage to behavioral, psychological, and mental health services in rural areas. In April 2025, Bennet and Representative Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) held a roundtable discussion with rural health providers on the Western Slope to discuss challenges to providing high-quality care in Colorado's rural communities.

In February 2026, Bennet celebrated the passage of six of his health care bills: the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act, REAL Health Providers Act, Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, Give Kids a Chance Act, PREEMIE Act Reauthorization, and Prescription Drug Supply Chain Pricing Transparency Act.

The text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE.

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