I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8200 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary 

of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of 

the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants to 

eligible entities to carry out construction or modernization projects designed to strengthen and increase capacity within the specialized pediatric 

health care infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2024 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Mr. TRONE, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Ms. CHU, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. MORELLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend title III of the Public Health Service Act to 

direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

and Services Administration, to award grants to eligible 

entities to carry out construction or modernization 

projects designed to strengthen and increase capacity 

within the specialized pediatric health care infrastructure, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 8200 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pediatric Access to 

3 Critical Healthcare Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE CAPACITY GRANTS. 

5 Part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 254b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘Subpart XIII—Pediatric Health Care Capacity 

9 ‘‘SEC. 340J. PEDIATRIC HEALTH CARE CAPACITY GRANTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

11 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

12 Administration, shall award grants to eligible entities to 

13 carry out construction or modernization projects designed 

14 to strengthen and increase capacity within pediatric health 

15 care infrastructure. 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

17 a grant under subsection (a), an entity shall be a— 

18 ‘‘(1) children’s hospital; 

19 ‘‘(2) a facility that is eligible to receive funds 

20 under Section 340E of the Public Health Service 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 256e); or 

22 ‘‘(3) a nonprofit medical facility that predomi23 nantly treats individuals under the age of 21. 

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity selected to 

25 receive a grant under subsection (a) may use funds re26 ceived through the grant for— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 8200 IH

1 ‘‘(1) expanding pediatric critical health care in2 frastructure, including the expansion, renovation, re3 modeling, and alteration of existing buildings (but 

4 not including the cost of acquisition of land or off5 site improvements); 

6 ‘‘(2) maintaining and enhancing pediatric emer7 gency preparedness; 

8 ‘‘(3) increasing the training, development, and 

9 retention of the pediatric health care workforce; 

10 ‘‘(4) upgrading digital health infrastructure, in11 cluding upgrades related to preventing and address12 ing cybersecurity threats; 

13 ‘‘(5) building additional patient care capacity to 

14 expand access to care; and 

15 ‘‘(6) other activities related to strengthening 

16 and increasing capacity within the pediatric health 

17 care infrastructure, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a 

19 grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Secretary 

20 an application, at such time, in such manner, and con21 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(1) a description of the entity’s planned activi24 ties described in subsection (c); and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 8200 IH

1 ‘‘(2) such documentation as may be necessary 

2 to demonstrate to the Secretary’s satisfaction of the 

3 estimated cost of the project for which the grant is 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants under 

6 this section, the Secretary, to the extent practicable, may 

7 ensure equitable distribution of awards among the geo8 graphical regions of the United States. 

9 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible entities to re10 ceive a grant under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give 

11 priority to eligible entities— 

12 ‘‘(1) for whom over 60 percent of the patients 

13 they serve are receiving medical assistance under a 

14 State plan (or a waiver of such plan) under title 

15 XIX of the Social Security Act or child health assist16 ance under a State child health plan (or a waiver of 

17 such plan) under title XXI of such Act; or 

18 ‘‘(2) that primarily serve children from diverse 

19 and traditionally underserved populations, including 

20 racial and ethnic minorities. 

21 ‘‘(g) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds pro22 vided under this subsection shall be used to supplement, 

23 and not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available 

24 for carrying out the activities described in this section. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 8200 IH

1 ‘‘(h) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving 

2 a grant under this section shall provide funds from sources 

3 other than funds provided through such grant in an 

4 amount that is at least equal to 50 percent of the amount 

5 of such grant. 

6 ‘‘(i) REPORTING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REPORTS FROM GRANTEES.—Following 

8 project completion, each entity awarded a grant 

9 under this section shall submit a report to the Sec10 retary on the activities conducted under such grant, 

11 and other information as the Secretary may require. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

13 September 30, 2028, and every 5 years thereafter, 

14 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En15 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

16 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

17 and Pensions of the Senate a report on the activities 

18 conducted through, and outcomes of such projects, 

19 funded through the grants under subsection (a). 

20 Such reports shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of projects supported by 

22 the grants under subsection (a); 

23 ‘‘(B) an overview of the impact, if any, of 

24 such projects on pediatric health care infraVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 May 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8200.IH H8200

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 8200 IH

1 structure, including any impact on access to 

2 health care for pediatric populations; and 

3 ‘‘(C) recommendations for improving the 

4 grant program under this section, and any 

5 other considerations as the Secretary deter6 mines appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $600,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

10 2034.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB