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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 659 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.659

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three

                                 An Act

 
     To amend section 242 of the National Housing Act regarding the 
    requirements for mortgage insurance under such Act for hospitals.

    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 ``Hospital Mortgage Insurance Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING NEED AND FEASIBILITY FOR HOSPITALS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 242(d) of the National 
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-7) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(4)(A) The Secretary shall require satisfactory evidence that the 
hospital will be located in a State or political subdivision of a State 
with reasonable minimum standards of licensure and methods of operation 
for hospitals and satisfactory assurance that such standards will be 
applied and enforced with respect to the hospital.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall establish the means for determining need 
and feasibility for the hospital, if the State does not have an 
official procedure for determining need for hospitals. If the State has 
an official procedure for determining need for hospitals, the Secretary 
shall require that such procedure be followed before the application 
for insurance is submitted, and the application shall document that 
need has also been established under that procedure.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--
        (1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
    take effect and apply as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
        (2) Effect of regulatory authority.--Any authority of the 
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to issue regulations to 
    carry out the amendment made by subsection (a) may not be construed 
    to affect the effectiveness or applicability of such amendment 
    under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

SEC. 3. EXEMPTION FOR CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 242 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1715z-7) is amended--
        (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting ``, unless the 
    facility is a critical access hospital (as that term is defined in 
    section 1861(mm)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
    1395x(mm)(1)))'' after ``tuberculosis''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Termination of Exemption for Critical Access Hospitals.--
        ``(1) In general.--The exemption for critical access hospitals 
    under subsection (b)(1)(B) shall have no effect after July 31, 
    2006.
        ``(2) Report to congress.--Not later than 3 years after July 
    31, 2003, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress detailing 
    the effects of the exemption of critical access hospitals from the 
    provisions of subsection (b)(1)(B) on--
            ``(A) the provision of mortgage insurance to hospitals 
        under this section; and
            ``(B) the General Insurance Fund established under section 
        519.''.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF BARRIERS TO RECEIPT OF INSURED MORTGAGES BY FEDERALLY 
              QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTERS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall conduct a study on the barriers to the receipt of mortgage 
insurance by federally qualified health centers (as defined in section 
1905(l)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(l)(2)(B))) 
under section 1101 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1749aaa), or 
other programs under that Act.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit a 
report regarding any appropriate legislative and regulatory changes 
needed to enable federally qualified health centers to access mortgage 
insurance under section 1101 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1749aaa), or other programs under that Act to--
        (1) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
    Senate; and
        (2) the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
    Representatives.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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