Physician Led and Rural Access to Quality Care Act

This bill modifies Medicare's physician self-referral rules to improve access for rural communities. It creates a new exemption for "covered rural hospitals" (defined as facilities in rural areas more than 35 miles from another hospital or critical access hospital) from certain restrictions on physicians owning hospitals. The bill also removes a prohibition on expanding existing physician-owned hospitals, allowing such expansions after the law's enactment. These changes directly affect rural hospitals seeking Medicare participation and physicians who own or operate hospitals in underserved areas.