I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3558 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study 

on the state of hospital infrastructure in the United States, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 27, 2019 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

conduct a study on the state of hospital infrastructure 

in the United States, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Hospitals 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HHS STUDY ON HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services, in consultation with State departments of health 


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1 and other public health entities, shall conduct a study on 

2 the state of hospital infrastructure in the United States. 

3 (b) TOPICS.—The study under subsection (a) shall 

4 include the following: 

5 (1) An assessment of barriers to accessing cap6 ital for infrastructure at hospitals serving vulnerable 

7 populations, such as hospitals described in section 

8 1886(d)(5)(F)(i) of the Social Security Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(F)(i), relating to dispropor10 tionate share payments), sole community hospitals 

11 (as defined in section 1886(d)(5)(D)(iii) of such Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(F)(i)), critical access hos13 pitals (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of such 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm)(1)), and public hospitals, 

15 including— 

16 (A) recommendations for addressing such 

17 barriers, which may include recommendations 

18 for grants or low-cost borrowing vehicles; 

19 (B) analysis of the impact of such barriers 

20 on managing infrastructure at such hospitals, 

21 including with respect to life-safety issues and 

22 emergency preparedness; and 

23 (C) identification of public funds that are 

24 available for— 


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1 (i) bringing such hospitals into com2 pliance with applicable laws; and 

3 (ii) ensuring that such hospitals and 

4 the communities they serve are appro5 priately prepared for responding to emer6 gencies including public health emer7 gencies. 

8 (2) An assessment of the state of health infor9 mation technology at hospitals in the United States, 

10 including— 

11 (A) the state of electronic medical records 

12 and the dependence of hospitals and health sys13 tems on technology that is outdated or de14 bunked; and 

15 (B) barriers associated with updating 

16 health information technology, including with 

17 respect to hardware, software, administrative 

18 burden, staff training, and associated costs. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services shall complete the study under this sec22 tion and submit a report on the results of such study to 

23 the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 


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1 of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Edu2 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 

Æ 


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