CATCH IT Act

The "Community Access to Treatment and Care for Health through Increased Testing Act," or CATCH IT Act, seeks to improve access to preventative healthcare in rural areas. It achieves this by amending the Community Facilities Grant Program of the Department of Agriculture. Specifically, the bill increases the federal share of grant funding by 25 percentage points for rural health facilities that purchase or upgrade preventative health care equipment. This incentive is designed to make it more financially feasible for these facilities to acquire crucial diagnostic tools. The legislation defines "preventative health care equipment" broadly to include a range of technologies vital for early detection and diagnosis. Examples include: Advanced breast imaging equipment (e.g., 3D mammography) Mobile cancer screening units Laboratory equipment for multi-cancer early detection Colorectal cancer screening equipment Computerized tomography scanners and diagnostic ultrasound equipment These amendments will take effect on the first day of the first federal fiscal year following the bill's enactment, aiming to bolster rural health infrastructure and improve patient outcomes through enhanced screening capabilities.