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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri Prohibits Denying Hospital Trauma Designation Based on Distance
Last action · May 15, 2026: Referred: Emerging Issues(H)Sponsor: Mark Sharp
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What This Bill Would Do
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is prohibited from denying Level I, II, or III trauma center designation to a qualified hospital solely based on its distance or mileage from another trauma center. The measure also standardizes s, data reporting, and physician education requirements across trauma, , and stroke centers.
- The General Assembly of the state of Missouri is the state legislature responsible for enacting and amending state statutes. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Hospitals
Hospitals applying for trauma, STEMI, or stroke center designations are subject to updated site review rules, alternative national certification pathways, and data submission methods.
Emergency Medicine Physicians
Physicians board-certified through ABEM or AOBEM are exempt from additional department-established education requirements while practicing in designated emergency departments.
Department of Health and Senior Services
The department is restricted from denying trauma designations based on distance and must follow revised guidelines for site reviews, data handling, and physician education standards.
Key Facts
- The Department of Health and Senior Services cannot deny a qualified hospital designation as a level I, II, or III trauma center based solely on the distance or mileage between trauma centers.
- The department must conduct a site review of every trauma, STEMI, and stroke center at least once every three years, unless designated through alternative national certification methods.
- Hospitals may apply for designation based on national certifications rather than standard state site reviews, provided they meet state rules aligned with national organizations.
- Hospitals designated as trauma, STEMI, or stroke centers may submit required data by entering it into either a state registry or a national registry/data bank.
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- The department is barred from establishing additional education requirements for emergency medicine physicians who are board-certified or board-eligible through ABEM or AOBEM.
- Hospitals failing two consecutive site reviews due to substantial noncompliance will have their center designation revoked.
- Any person aggrieved by a department action regarding a center designation may seek a determination by the administrative hearing commission under chapter 621.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the state deny a trauma center designation because a hospital is too close to another facility?
How do hospitals submit required clinical data under this measure?
What happens if a trauma center fails multiple site reviews?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- May 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 1, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Removal of Geographic Distance Barriers for Trauma Centers
The bill shifts policy to explicitly forbid denying trauma center status based on proximity to other facilities.
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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