H.R. 9908 — Rural Hospital Cybersecurity Enhancement Act

This section defines terms used in the Act, including "agency" under title 5 of the U.S. Code, "appropriate committees of Congress" as the Senate HELP and Finance Committees and the House Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees, "geographic division" as one of the nine Census Bureau divisions, "Secretary" as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and "rural hospital" as subsection (d) hospitals in rural areas, critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals, Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals, low-volume hospitals, or rural emergency hospitals.

This section directs the Secretary to develop and transmit to Congress, within one year of enactment, a rural hospital cybersecurity workforce development strategy. It requires consultation with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Secretaries of Education and Labor, the National Cyber Director, and at least two rural providers from each geographic division, consideration of partnerships, curricula, and workforce challenges, and annual briefings on updates, programs, and effectiveness.

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish, no later than one year after enactment and at no cost, instructional materials on the HHS website and through other means for training rural hospital staff on fundamental cybersecurity efforts. It directs the Secretary to consult with relevant agency heads, cybersecurity education experts, and rural health care experts; adapt existing materials or develop new ones as needed; and conduct an awareness campaign to promote the materials.