I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1174 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require public reporting 
of health care-associated infections data by hospitals and ambulatory 
surgical centers and to permit the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services to establish a pilot program to provide incentives to hospitals 
and ambulatory surgical centers to eliminate the rate of occurrence 
of such infections. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2007 
Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. BOSWELL, 
and Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida) 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 provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require 
public reporting of health care-associated infections data 
by hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers and to per-
mit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
establish a pilot program to provide incentives to hos-
pitals and ambulatory surgical centers to eliminate the 
rate of occurrence of such infections. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Hospitals Act 
of 2007’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Health care costs in the United States are 
rising. From 2004 through 2005, the medical costs 
for a four-person household increased by 9.1 percent 
to $12,214. A significant portion of these increased 
costs are attributable to health care-associated infec-
tions. When a patient contracts such an infection, 
that cost is passed on to the insurance companies, 
State and Federal governments, or individuals. 
(2) Health care-associated infections contribute 
to over $50,000,000,000 in annual medical costs. An 
acquired infection adds $150,000 to a medical bill 
per patient. 
(3) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention reports that there are an estimated 
2,000,000 cases of health care-associated infections 
and an estimated 90,000 deaths related to such in-
fections annually. 
(4) Only six States require hospitals to report 
their health care-associated infection rates. Only one 
State makes that information available to the public 
for each hospital. 
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(5) Health care-associated infections include 
surgical site infections, ventilator associated pneu-
monia, central line related (IV) blood infections, uri-
nary tract infections, methicillin-resistant Staphy-
lococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, and other types 
of infections. These infections are transmitted to pa-
tients when there is inadequate adherence to clean 
sanitation and patient safety procedures that would 
otherwise prevent infectious disease. A study in the 
American Journal of Medical Quality of almost 
12,000 hospitalizations reports that hospital proce-
dures, not the sickness of the patient at the time of 
admission, tended to be the primary cause of these 
infections. 
(6) Hospitals and other health care providers 
have been able to drastically reduce infection rates 
by strict adherence to clean sanitation techniques, 
including: 
(A) Handwashing before and after contact 
with any patient. 
(B) Sterilizing all equipment used with pa-
tients. 
(C) Clean up before and after patient pro-
cedures. 
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(D) Proper use of antibiotics before and 
after surgery. 
(E) Pre-testing patients on admission to 
evaluate the presence of an infection (such as 
MRSA). 
(F) Use of infection control boards at hos-
pitals to monitor and manage procedures. 
(7) The National Surgical Infection Prevention 
Project found in a study of over 34,000 patients 
treated nationwide that more than 44 percent of pa-
tients did not receive antibiotic doses within the rec-
ommended time frame. In addition, the American 
Journal of Infection Control reports that 70 percent 
of 
health 
care 
workers 
do 
not 
adhere 
to 
handwashing and sterilization procedures. 
(8) Hospitals have successfully reduced infec-
tions by improving patient safety. For example, Alle-
gheny General Hospital in Pennsylvania reduced the 
rate of central line-acquired infections to almost zero 
within 90 days by educating and training health care 
staff on infection control resulting in savings in 
three years of over $2,000,000. A major teaching 
hospital in St. Louis reported a reduction in central 
line acquired infection rates through introduction of 
an educational program for all staff resulting in cost 
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