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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 28 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 28

  To amend the Small Business Act to provide loan guarantees for the 
acquisition of health information technology by eligible professionals 
       in solo and small group practices, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2013

Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Small Business Act to provide loan guarantees for the 
acquisition of health information technology by eligible professionals 
       in solo and small group practices, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Working Families' Access to Health 
Innovations Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS ACT.

    The Small Business Act is amended by redesignating section 45 as 
section 46 and by inserting after section 44 the following:

``SEC. 45. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

    ``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `health information technology' means 
        computer hardware, software, and related technology (including 
        electronic medical record technology) that--
                    ``(A) supports the compliance with the meaningful 
                EHR use requirements set forth in section 1848(o)(2)(A) 
                of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-
                4(o)(2)(A));
                    ``(B) is purchased by an eligible professional to 
                aid in the provision of health care in a health care 
                setting; and
                    ``(C) provides for--
                            ``(i) enhancement of continuity of care for 
                        patients through electronic storage, 
                        transmission, and exchange of relevant personal 
                        health data and information, such that this 
                        information is accessible at the times and 
                        places where clinical decisions will be or are 
                        likely to be made;
                            ``(ii) enhancement of communication between 
                        patients and health care providers;
                            ``(iii) improvement of quality measurement 
                        by eligible professionals enabling them to 
                        collect, store, measure, and report on the 
                        processes and outcomes of individual and 
                        population performance and quality of care;
                            ``(iv) improvement of evidence-based 
                        decision support; or
                            ``(v) enhancement of consumer and patient 
                        empowerment.
        Such term does not include information technology the sole use 
        of which is financial management, maintenance of inventory of 
        basic supplies, or appointment scheduling.
            ``(2) The term `eligible professional' means any of the 
        following:
                    ``(A) A physician (as defined in section 1861(r) of 
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r))).
                    ``(B) A practitioner described in section 
                1842(b)(18)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(18)(C)).
                    ``(C) A physical or occupational therapist or a 
                qualified speech-language pathologist.
                    ``(D) A qualified audiologist (as defined in 
                section 1861(ll)(4)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1395x(ll)(4)(B))).
                    ``(E) A State-licensed pharmacist.
                    ``(F) A State-licensed supplier of durable medical 
                equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, or supplies.
                    ``(G) A State-licensed, a State-certified, or a 
                nationally accredited home health care provider.
            ``(3) The term `qualified eligible professional' means an 
        eligible professional whose practice--
                    ``(A) is a small business concern; and
                    ``(B)(i) is in a medically underserved community 
                (as defined in section 799B(6) of the Public Health 
                Service Act (42 U.S.C. 295p(6)));
                    ``(ii) serves individuals at least 50 percent of 
                whom are entitled to benefits or enrolled under title 
                XVIII of the Social Security Act; or
                    ``(iii) serves an area that consists predominantly 
                of low-income families (as defined in section 3 of the 
                United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a)).
    ``(b) Loan Guarantees for Qualified Eligible Professionals.--
            ``(1) Guarantee percentage.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        Administrator may guarantee up to 90 percent of the amount of 
        the loan made to a qualified eligible professional for the 
        acquisition of health information technology for use in such 
        eligible professional's medical practice and for the costs 
        associated with the installation of such technology.
            ``(2) Limitations on guarantee amounts.--The maximum amount 
        of loan principal guaranteed under this subsection may not 
        exceed--
                    ``(A) $350,000 with respect to any single qualified 
                eligible professional; and
                    ``(B) $2,000,000 with respect to a single group of 
                affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
    ``(c) Fees.--(1) The Administrator may impose a guarantee fee on 
the borrower in an amount not to exceed 2 percent of the total 
guaranteed portion of any loan guaranteed under this section. The 
Administrator may also impose annual servicing fees on lenders not to 
exceed 0.5 percent of the outstanding balance of the guarantees on 
lenders' books.
    ``(2) No service fees, processing fees, origination fees, 
application fees, points, brokerage fees, bonus points, or other fees 
may be charged to a loan applicant or recipient by a lender in the case 
of a loan guaranteed under this section.
    ``(d) Interest Rates.--The interest rate charged on a loan 
guaranteed under this section shall not be greater than 25 basis points 
below the rate provided for a loan under the program under section 
7(a).
    ``(e) Deferral Period.--Loans guaranteed under this section shall 
carry a deferral period of not more than 3 years.
    ``(f) Terms and Conditions for Loan Guarantees.--The loans 
guaranteed under this section shall be subject to the terms and 
conditions that apply to the program under section 7(a) or other such 
terms and conditions as are prescribed by the Administrator.''.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER DUTIES.

    Section 21(c)(3) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 648(c)(3)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (S);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (T) 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(U) facilitating the training of medical professionals in 
        health information technology systems; and
            ``(V) establishing and providing a network of small health 
        information technology companies available to medical 
        professionals in low-income and underserved areas, as defined 
        by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for the purpose 
        of aiding medical professionals in such areas to purchase, 
        utilize, and maintain such technology.''.
                                 <all>
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