Medical and Health Stockpile Accountability Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.6520 | Sponsor: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh (D-NJ)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Medical and Health Stockpile Accountability Act of 2022
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop an automated application to track the amount of supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile and in similar inventories maintained by states, tribes, territories, and private entities (e.g., hospitals).
Additionally, HHS must (1) provide for an annual exercise to test the effectiveness of the application, and (2) establish a program to assist health care entities in obtaining automated vendor management systems.

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an 
  automated supply chain tracking application that provides near real-
 time insight into the amount of critical medical and health supplies 
             available in the Strategic National Stockpile.

    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 ``Medical and Health Stockpile 
Accountability Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. TRACKING AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF SUPPLIES IN THE NATIONAL 
              STOCKPILE.

    Section 319F-2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-6b) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
    ``(h) Tracking and Accountability of Supplies in the Stockpile.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an 
        automated supply chain tracking application that provides near 
        real-time insight into the amount of critical medical and 
        health supplies available in the stockpile under subsection 
        (a), and available in the medical and health supply inventories 
        of State, Tribal, territories, and local and private entities 
        such as hospitals, manufacturers, and distributors.
            ``(2) Access and use of the application.--The Secretary 
        shall establish rules for data access, and use of, the 
        application established under paragraph (1). Such rules shall--
                    ``(A) require internal tracking, pursuant to 
                subsection (d), of all supplies within the stockpile 
                under subsection (a), in a manner that is visible to 
                Federal entities identified by the Secretary;
                    ``(B) allow for data access, by Federal entities 
                during an emergency response, as determined by the 
                Secretary, to the medical and health supply stockpiles 
                of State, Tribal, territories, and local and private 
                partners;
                    ``(C) establish, after consultation with public and 
                private partners, a national standard for collecting 
                and reporting data related to products maintained in 
                the stockpile, including--
                            ``(i) data standards for category of 
                        products, nomenclature, and standards for 
                        coding of each product for entities to report 
                        product availability in their Federal, State, 
                        and local jurisdictions;
                            ``(ii) application of the standard to 
                        Tribal and local stockpiles; and
                            ``(iii) a data dictionary defining terms, 
                        such as `burn rate', `calculation of supply-on-
                        hand', and other appropriate terms;
                    ``(D) ensure clear and efficient mechanisms for 
                health care entities, including hospitals, 
                manufacturers, and distributors, to report data in an 
                emergency that supports medical and health supply chain 
                management and surge re-deployment, including detailed 
                data regarding all relevant supplies secured and 
                available;
                    ``(E) allow access by the Department of Health and 
                Human Services to data from different vendor management 
                systems, through automated feeds from health care 
                entities, eliminating manual reporting errors from 
                health care entities;
                    ``(F) establish the parameters for permitted and 
                prohibited government data access and uses;
                    ``(G) ensure that the Department of Health and 
                Human Services protects any data from hospitals, 
                manufacturers, and distributors that is shared through 
                the application, including protection of confidential, 
                proprietary, commercial, and trade secret information;
                    ``(H) ensure that Federal data collection is for 
                monitoring and dynamic allocation and will not be used 
                to remove or reallocate inventory from organizations;
                    ``(I) ensure that data will not be used by 
                suppliers for commercial or contractual purposes;
                    ``(J) ensure that reported data will not be used to 
                advantage or disadvantage any institution over another 
                or to undermine the competitive marketplace; and
                    ``(K) ensure that the application interfaces, for 
                tracking management purposes, with the National 
                Disaster Recovery Framework of the Federal Emergency 
                Management Agency, appropriate dashboards of the 
                Department of Defense, and other appropriate Federal 
                partners.
            ``(3) Participation by private entities.--The application 
        established under paragraph (1) shall support the voluntary 
        sharing of data and accessing data by private health care 
        supply chain entities, by allowing such entities to display 
        near real-time data relating to inventory and time estimates 
        for when inventories may be replenished.
            ``(4) Annual exercise.--The Secretary shall provide for an 
        annual exercise hosted by the Department of Health and Human 
        Services to test the effectiveness of the application 
        established under paragraph (1), and to provide an opportunity 
        to report, not later than 180 days after publication of the 
        standards described in paragraph (2)(C), any inefficiencies or 
        deficiencies in the application.
            ``(5) Program of support.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        program to assist State, local, and private health care 
        entities, such as rural, critical access, or community 
        hospitals, that do not have an automated vendor management 
        system in developing or obtaining such a system.
            ``(6) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for the 
        acquisition and development of an application under this 
        section, $250,000,000 to remain available for fiscal years 2022 
        through 2027.''.
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