RURAL Healthcare Act

Burgess Owens

Republican · UT · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

2026-04-16

Source: Congress.gov

This bill would allow temporary doctors, nurses, and other advanced healthcare workers hired on a short-term basis to be classified as independent contractors rather than employees, which would exempt them from certain federal labor protections like minimum wage requirements and the right to organize unions. The change would affect how these healthcare professionals are paid and what workplace rights they have, potentially allowing healthcare facilities to hire them with fewer legal obligations. Healthcare companies and staffing agencies would gain flexibility in how they structure these temporary positions, while the workers themselves would lose some employee protections.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8347 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8347 To classify qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners as independent contractors for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 16, 2026 Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To classify qualified locum tenens professionals and advanced care practitioners as independent contractors for the purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the National Labor Relations Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Reinforcing Underserved, Rural, and Local Healthcare Act'' or the ``RURAL Healthcare Act''. SEC. 2. CLASSIFICATION OF QUALIFIED LOCUM TENENS PROFESSIONALS AND ADVANCED CARE PRACTITIONERS AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938 AND NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT. (a) In General.--For the purposes of the following Federal laws, an individual who is a qualified locum tenens professional or advanced care practitioner shall not be considered an employee of the entity on behalf of which the individual furnishes physician or advanced care practitioner services on a temporary basis, whether or not provided as a substitute for another provider: (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). (2) The National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). (b) Qualified Locum Tenens Professional or Advanced Care Practitioner Defined.--In this section, the term ``qualified locum tenens professional or advanced care practitioner'' means an individual who-- (1) provides temporary physician or advanced care practitioner services, including for workforce coverage, scheduling flexibility, or episodic staffing needs-- (A) for a period of not more than one continuous year at a single site of service; and (B) pursuant to a written contract providing that the individual will not be treated as an employee with respect to such services; and (2) is-- (A) a physician, as defined in-- (i) section 1861(r) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r)); or (ii) section 8101(2) of title 5, United States Code; or (B) a nurse practitioner, physician's assistant, or certified registered nurse anesthetist. <all>

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