Rural Health Clinics Can Now Bill Medicare for RN-Delivered Wellness Visits, Effective Immediately

The RNs for Rural Health Act of 2025 is making a targeted, but significant, change to how preventative care is paid for in rural America. Essentially, it updates Medicare rules to ensure that Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) get paid when a Registered Nurse (RN) provides certain preventative services, a change that kicks in the moment the bill becomes law (Sec. 2).

The Medicare Billing Headache, Solved

Historically, RHCs have faced payment roadblocks for preventative services. This bill cuts through that by allowing RHCs to bill Medicare for "personalized prevention plan services." The key detail is that these services can now be provided and billed for when delivered by a state-licensed RN. Before, it was often easier to get reimbursed if a physician delivered the service. Now, the bill explicitly states that the RN’s services, and any supplies that go along with them, are covered just as if a doctor had provided them (Sec. 2).

If you live in a rural area, this matters because it immediately makes it financially viable for your local clinic to prioritize and staff up for preventative check-ups and planning. For RHCs, which often operate on thin margins, this is a major boost to their bottom line, utilizing the talented RN staff they already have instead of relying solely on scarce physician hours. It’s a smart way to leverage existing resources to improve access to care where it’s needed most.

What This Means for Your Annual Checkup

Think of the “personalized prevention plan services” as your annual wellness visit—the time you spend with a healthcare professional mapping out your health goals, reviewing medications, and planning screenings for the coming year. This bill ensures that if your appointment is with a qualified RN at an RHC, the clinic gets paid correctly. This increased revenue stream should, in theory, allow RHCs to offer more of these services, cutting down on wait times for preventative appointments.

However, there is a catch: the bill doesn’t explicitly define what constitutes these “personalized prevention plan services.” While the general intent is clear—annual wellness checks—that lack of precise definition could lead to some ambiguity down the road about what exactly qualifies for Medicare reimbursement. For patients, this means keeping an eye on the services offered to ensure they are truly focused on preventative care and not just maximizing the new billing opportunity.

The Real-World Impact

For rural Medicare beneficiaries, this change is a clear win for access. It expands the pool of professionals who can deliver essential preventative care, which is crucial in areas struggling with physician shortages. For the RHCs themselves, it’s a necessary adjustment to Medicare’s payment structure that recognizes the critical role RNs play in primary care. While Medicare might see a short-term cost increase due to covering services that were previously difficult to bill for, the long-term goal is to improve preventative health, which usually translates to lower costs down the line by catching problems early.