I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9412 
To enhance the cybersecurity of the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 27, 2024 
Mr. CROW (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, and Ms. 
SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To enhance the cybersecurity of the Healthcare and Public 
Health Sector. 
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 ‘‘Healthcare Cybersecu-
rity Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Agency’’ means the Cybersecurity 
and Infrastructure Security Agency; 
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(2) 
the 
term 
‘‘covered 
asset’’ 
means 
a 
Healthcare and Public Health Sector asset, includ-
ing technologies, services, and utilities; 
(3) the term ‘‘Cybersecurity State Coordinator’’ 
means a Cybersecurity State Coordinator appointed 
under section 2217(a) of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 665c(a)); 
(4) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services; 
(5) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 
the Agency; 
(6) the term ‘‘Healthcare and Public Health 
Sector’’ means the Healthcare and Public Health 
sector, as identified in the National Security Memo-
randum on Critical Infrastructure and Resilience 
(NSM–22), issued April 30, 2024; 
(7) the term ‘‘Information Sharing and Anal-
ysis Organizations’’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 2200 of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 650); 
(8) the term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Healthcare and 
Public Health Sector-specific Risk Management 
Plan; and 
(9) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services. 
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SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Covered assets are increasingly the targets 
of malicious cyberattacks, which result not only in 
data breaches, but also increased healthcare delivery 
costs, and can ultimately affect patient health out-
comes. 
(2) Data reported to the Department shows 
that large cyber breaches of the information systems 
of healthcare facilities rose 93 percent between 2018 
to 2022. 
(3) According to the ‘‘Annual Report to Con-
gress on Breaches of Unsecured Protected Health 
Information for Calendar Year 2022’’ issued by the 
Office for Civil Rights of the Department, breaches 
of unsecured protected health information have in-
creased 107 percent since 2018, and, in 2022 alone, 
the Department received 626 reported breaches af-
fecting not less than 500 individuals at covered enti-
ties or business associates, (as defined in section 
160.103 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations), 
that occurred or ended in 2022, with nearly 
42,000,000 individuals affected. 
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SEC. 4. AGENCY COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall coordinate with 
the Department to improve cybersecurity in the 
Healthcare and Public Health Sector. 
(b) AGENCY LIAISON TO THE DEPARTMENT.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall, in co-
ordination with the Secretary, appoint an individual, 
who shall be an employee of the Agency or a detailee 
assigned to the Administration for Strategic Pre-
paredness and Response Office of the Department 
by the Director, to serve as a liaison of the Agency 
to the Department, who shall— 
(A) have appropriate cybersecurity quali-
fications and expertise; and 
(B) report directly to the Director. 
(2) RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES.—The liai-
son appointed under paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) serve as a primary contact of the De-
partment to coordinate cybersecurity issues 
with the Agency; 
(B) support the implementation and execu-
tion of the Plan and assist in the development 
of updates to the Plan; 
(C) facilitate the sharing of cyber threat 
information between the Department and the 
Agency to improve understanding of cybersecu-
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rity risks and situational awareness of cyberse-
curity incidents; 
(D) assist in implementing the training de-
scribed in section 5; 
(E) facilitate coordination between the 
Agency and the Department during cybersecu-
rity incidents within the Healthcare and Public 
Health Sector; and 
(F) perform such other duties as deter-
mined necessary by the Secretary to achieve the 
goal of improving the cybersecurity of the 
Healthcare and Public Health Sector. 
(3) REPORT.— 
(A) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary, in coordination with the Direc-
tor, shall submit a report that describes the ac-
tivities undertaken to improve cybersecurity co-
ordination between the Agency and the Depart-
ment to— 
(i) the Committee on Health, Edu-
cation, Labor, and Pensions, the Com-
mittee on Finance, and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs of the Senate; and 
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(ii) the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, the Committee on Ways and 
Means, and the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives. 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 
under subparagraph (A) shall include— 
(i) a summary of the activities of the 
liaison appointed under paragraph (1); 
(ii) a description of any challenges to 
the effectiveness of the liaison appointed 
under paragraph (1) completing the re-
quired duties of the liaison; and 
(iii) a study of the feasibility of an 
agreement to improve cybersecurity in the 
public sector of healthcare. 
(c) RESOURCES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agency shall coordinate 
with and make resources available to Information 
Sharing and Analysis Organizations, information 
sharing and analysis centers, the sector coordinating 
councils, and non-Federal entities that are receiving 
information shared through programs managed by 
the Department. 
(2) SCOPE.—The coordination under paragraph 
(1) shall include— 
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(A) developing products specific to the 
needs of Healthcare and Public Health Sector 
entities; and 
(B) sharing information relating to cyber 
threat indicators and appropriate defensive 
measures. 
SEC. 5. TRAINING FOR HEALTHCARE OWNERS AND OPERA-
TORS. 
The Agency shall make available training to the own-
ers and operators of covered assets on— 
(1) cybersecurity risks to the Healthcare and 
Public Health Sector and covered assets; and 
(2) ways to mitigate the risks to information 
systems in the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. 
SEC. 6. SECTOR-SPECIFIC RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordina-
tion with the Director, shall update the Plan, which shall 
include the following elements: 
(1) An analysis of how identified cybersecurity 
risks specifically impact covered assets, including the 
impact on rural and small and medium-sized covered 
assets. 
(2) An evaluation of the challenges the owners 
and operators of covered assets face in— 
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(A) securing— 
(i) 
updated 
information 
systems 
owned, leased, or relied upon by covered 
assets; 
(ii) medical devices or equipment 
owned, leased, or relied upon by covered 
assets, which shall include an analysis of 
the threat landscape and cybersecurity 
vulnerabilities of such medical devices or 
equipment; and 
(iii) sensitive patient health informa-
tion and electronic health records; 
(B) implementing cybersecurity protocols; 
and 
(C) responding to data breaches or cyber-
security attacks, including the impact on pa-
tient access to care, quality of patient care, 
timeliness of health care delivery, and health 
outcomes. 
(3) An evaluation of the best practices for utili-
zation of resources from the Agency to support cov-
ered assets before, during and after data breaches or 
cybersecurity attacks, such as by Cyber Security Ad-
visors and Cybersecurity State Coordinators of the 
Agency or other similar resources. 
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(4) An assessment of relevant Healthcare and 
Public Health Sector cybersecurity workforce short-
ages, including— 
(A) training, recruitment, and retention 
issues; and 
(B) recommendations for how to address 
these shortages and issues, particularly at rural 
and small and medium-sized covered assets. 
(5) An evaluation of the most accessible and 
timely ways for the Agency and the Department to 
communicate and deploy cybersecurity recommenda-
tions and tools to the owners and operators of cov-
ered assets. 
(b) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Director, shall provide a 
briefing on the updating of the Plan under subsection (a) 
to— 
(1) the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on Finance, 
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
(2) the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Com-
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mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Rep-
resentatives. 
SEC. 7. IDENTIFYING HIGH-RISK COVERED ASSETS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Director and health sector owners and operators, 
as appropriate, may establish objective criteria for deter-
mining whether a covered asset may be designated as a 
high-risk covered asset, provided that such criteria shall 
align with the methodology promulgated by the Director 
for identifying functions relating to critical infrastructure, 
as defined in section 1016(e) of the Critical Infrastructure 
Protection Act of 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)), and associ-
ated risk assessments. 
(b) LIST OF HIGH-RISK COVERED ASSETS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may develop 
a list of, and notify, the owners and operators of 
each covered asset determined to be a high-risk cov-
ered asset using the methodology promulgated by 
the Director pursuant to subsection (a). 
(2) 
BIANNUAL
UPDATING.—The 
Secretary 
may— 
(A) biannually review and update the list 
of high-risk covered assets developed under 
paragraph (1); and 
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(B) notify the owners and operators of 
each covered asset added to or removed from 
the list as part of a review and update of the 
list under subparagraph (A). 
(3) NOTICE
TO
CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall notify Congress when an initial list of high-risk 
covered assets is developed under paragraph (1) and 
each time the list is updated under paragraph (2). 
(4) USE.—The list developed and updated 
under this subsection may be used by the Depart-
ment to prioritize resource allocation to high-risk 
covered assets to bolster cyber resilience. 
SEC. 8. REPORTS. 
(a) REPORT ON ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO ENTITIES 
OF HEALTHCARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR.—Not 
later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Agency shall submit to Congress a report on the 
organization-wide level of support and activities that the 
Agency has provided to the healthcare and public health 
sector to proactively prepare the sector to face cyber 
threats and respond to cyber attacks when such threats 
or attacks occur. 
(b) REPORT
ON CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RE-
SOURCES.—Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
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