I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6857 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a COVID- 
19 skilled nursing facility payment incentive program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2020 
Mr. SUOZZI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish 
a COVID-19 skilled nursing facility payment incentive 
program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID-19-Only 
Homes Organized for Resident Treatment Act of 2020’’ 
or the ‘‘COHORT Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. COVID-19 SKILLED NURSING FACILITY PAYMENT IN-
CENTIVE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1819 of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i–3) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(k) COVID-19 DESIGNATION PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 weeks 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 
the Secretary shall establish a program under which 
a skilled nursing facility that makes an election de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(A) and meets the require-
ments described in paragraph (2)(B) is designated 
(or a portion of such facility is so designated) as a 
COVID-19 treatment center and receives incentive 
payments under section 1888(e)(13). 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A skilled nursing fa-
cility may elect to be designated (or to have a 
portion of such facility designated) as a 
COVID-19 treatment center under the program 
established under paragraph (1) if the facility 
submits to the Secretary, at a time and in a 
manner specified by the Secretary, an applica-
tion for such designation that contains such in-
formation as required by the Secretary and 
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demonstrates that such facility meets the re-
quirements described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 
described in this subparagraph with respect to 
a skilled nursing facility are the following: 
‘‘(i) The facility has a star rating with 
respect to staffing of 4 or 5 on the Nurs-
ing Home Compare website (as described 
in subsection (i)) and has maintained such 
a rating on such website during the 2-year 
period ending on the date of the submis-
sion of the application described in sub-
paragraph (A). 
‘‘(ii) The facility has a star rating of 
4 or 5 with respect to health inspections on 
such website and has maintained such a 
rating on such website during such period. 
‘‘(iii) During such period, the Sec-
retary or a State has not found a defi-
ciency with such facility relating to infec-
tion control that the Secretary or State de-
termined 
immediately 
jeopardized 
the 
health or safety of the residents of such fa-
cility (as described in paragraph (1) or 
(2)(A) of subsection (h), as applicable). 
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‘‘(iv) The facility provides care at 
such facility (or, in the case of an election 
made with respect to a portion of such fa-
cility, to provide care in such portion of 
such facility) only to eligible individuals. 
‘‘(v) The facility arranges for and 
transfers all residents of such facility (or 
such portion of such facility, as applicable) 
who are not eligible individuals to other 
skilled nursing facilities (or other portions 
of such facility, as applicable). 
‘‘(vi) The facility complies with the 
notice requirement described in paragraph 
(4). 
‘‘(vii) The facility meets the reporting 
requirement described in paragraph (5). 
‘‘(viii) Any other requirement deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) DURATION OF DESIGNATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A designation of a 
skilled nursing facility (or portion of such facil-
ity) as a COVID-19 treatment center shall 
begin on a date specified by the Secretary and 
end upon the earliest of the following: 
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‘‘(i) The revocation of such designa-
tion under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(ii) The submission of a notification 
by such facility to the Secretary that such 
facility elects to terminate such designa-
tion. 
‘‘(iii) The termination of the program 
(as specified in paragraph (6)). 
‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may 
revoke the designation of a skilled nursing facil-
ity (or portion of such facility) as a COVID-19 
treatment center if the Secretary determines 
that the facility is no longer in compliance with 
a requirement described in paragraph (2)(B). 
‘‘(4) RESIDENT
NOTICE
REQUIREMENT.—For 
purposes of paragraph (2)(B)(vi), the notice require-
ment described in this paragraph is that, not later 
than 72 hours before the date specified by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (3)(A) with respect to the 
designation of a skilled nursing facility (or portion 
of such facility) as a COVID-19 treatment center, 
the facility provides a notification to each resident of 
such facility (and to appropriate representatives or 
family members of each such resident, as specified 
by the Secretary) that contains the following: 
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‘‘(A) Notice of such designation. 
‘‘(B) In the case such resident is not an el-
igible individual (and, in the case such designa-
tion is made only with respect to a portion of 
such facility, resides in such portion of such fa-
cility)— 
‘‘(i) a specification of when and where 
such resident will be transferred (or moved 
within such facility); 
‘‘(ii) an explanation that, in lieu of 
such transfer or move, such resident may 
arrange for transfer to such other setting 
(including a home) selected by the resi-
dent; and 
‘‘(iii) if such resident so arranges to 
be transferred to a home, information on 
Internet resources for caregivers who elect 
to care for such resident at home. 
‘‘(C) Contact information for the State 
long-term care ombudsman (established under 
section 307(a)(12) of the Older Americans Act 
of 1965) for the applicable State. 
‘‘(5) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (2)(B)(vii), the reporting requirement de-
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scribed in this paragraph is, with respect to a 
skilled nursing facility, that the facility reports 
to the Secretary, weekly and in such manner 
specified by the Secretary, the following (but 
only to the extent the information described in 
clauses (i) through (vii) is not otherwise re-
ported to the Secretary weekly): 
‘‘(i) The number of COVID-19 related 
deaths at such facility. 
‘‘(ii) The number of discharges from 
such facility. 
‘‘(iii) The number of admissions to 
such facility. 
‘‘(iv) The number of beds occupied 
and the number of beds available at such 
facility. 
‘‘(v) The number of residents on a 
ventilator at such facility. 
‘‘(vi) The number of clinical and non-
clinical staff providing direct patient care 
at such facility. 
‘‘(vii) Such other information deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) NONAPPLICATION
OF
PAPERWORK 
REDUCTION
ACT.—Chapter 35 of title 44, 
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United States Code (commonly known as the 
‘Paperwork Reduction Act’), shall not apply to 
the collection of information under this para-
graph. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an indi-
vidual who, during the 30-day period ending on the 
first day on which such individual is a resident of a 
COVID-19 treatment center (on or after the date 
such center is so designated), was furnished a test 
for COVID-19 that came back positive. 
‘‘(7) TERMINATION.—The program established 
under paragraph (1) shall terminate upon the termi-
nation of the emergency period described in section 
1135(g)(1)(B). 
‘‘(8) PROHIBITION
ON
ADMINISTRATIVE
AND 
JUDICIAL REVIEW.—There shall be no administrative 
or judicial review under section 1869, 1878, or oth-
erwise of a designation of a skilled nursing facility 
(or portion of such facility) as a COVID-19 treat-
ment center, or revocation of such a designation, 
under this subsection.’’. 
(b) PAYMENT INCENTIVE.—Section 1888(e) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395yy(e)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 
subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and (12)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(12), and (13)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(13) ADJUSTMENT FOR COVID-19 TREATMENT 
CENTERS.—In the case of a resident of a skilled 
nursing facility that has been designated as a 
COVID-19 treatment center under section 1819(k) 
(or in the case of a resident who resides in a portion 
of such facility that has been so designated), if such 
resident is an eligible individual (as defined in para-
graph (5) of such section), the per diem amount of 
payment for such resident otherwise applicable shall 
be increased by 20 percent to reflect increased costs 
associated with such residents.’’. 
Æ 
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