Title: Personal Protective Equipment for Home Health Care Workers Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Personal Protective Equipment for Home Health Care Workers Act of 2020
This bill requires home health agencies to provide personal protective equipment to their workers, and to regularly report data regarding worker deaths, during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) as a condition of federal payment under Medicare, Medicaid, and specified COVID-19 relief funds.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9031 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9031

  To amend title XVIII and XIX of the Social Security to require home 
health agencies to provide personal protective equipment to workers and 
            submit related reports, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 18, 2020

  Ms. Moore introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, 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 amend title XVIII and XIX of the Social Security to require home 
health agencies to provide personal protective equipment to workers and 
            submit related reports, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Personal Protective Equipment for 
Home Health Care Workers Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR HOME HEALTH AGENCIES TO PROVIDE PERSONAL 
              PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO WORKERS AND SUBMIT RELATED 
              REPORTS.

    (a) Under the Medicare Program.--Section 1895 of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395fff) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(f) Requirements for Personal Protective Equipment.--
            ``(1) In general.--With respect to home health services 
        furnished during the period beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection and ending on the last day of the 
        emergency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) by a home 
        health agency--
                    ``(A) no claim for such a service may be paid under 
                this title, unless the home health agency--
                            ``(i) attests to the Secretary it has 
                        provided or will provide personal protective 
                        equipment to individuals working for the agency 
                        at no cost to the individual during such 
                        period; and
                            ``(ii) so provides personal protective 
                        equipment to individuals working for the agency 
                        at no cost to the individual during such 
                        period; and
                    ``(B) in the case the Secretary finds the home 
                health agency is not in compliance with subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B) of paragraph (1), no claim for any such 
                service may be paid under this title to the home health 
                agency during the period that--
                            ``(i) begins on the first day of such 
                        noncompliance; and
                            ``(ii) ending on the earlier of--
                                    ``(I) the last day of the 60-day 
                                period after the home health agency is 
                                in compliance with such subparagraphs; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the day that is 10 days 
                                after the last day of the emergency 
                                period described in section 
                                1135(g)(1)(B).
            ``(2) Reports.--With respect to home health services 
        furnished by a home health agency, no claim for such a service 
        may be paid under this title, unless the home health agency 
        submits to the Secretary--
                    ``(A) not later than 45 days after the enactment of 
                this subsection, an initial report that specifies the 
                number of deaths of individuals working for the agency 
                during the period beginning on the first date of the 
                emergency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) and 
                ending on the date such report is submitted, 
                disaggregated by week; and
                    ``(B) reports to be submitted on a schedule to be 
                determined by the Secretary that specify the number of 
                deaths of individuals working for the agency during the 
                preceding 7-day period through the last day of such 
                emergency period.''.
    (b) Under State Medicaid Programs.--Section 1903(i) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(i)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (26), by striking at the end ``or'';
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (27) the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(28) for home health services furnished during the period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection and 
        ending on the last day of the emergency period described in 
        section 1135(g)(1)(B) by a home health agency--
                    ``(A) unless the home health agency--
                            ``(i) attests to the Secretary it has 
                        provided or will provide personal protective 
                        equipment to individuals working for the agency 
                        at no cost to the individual during such 
                        period; and
                            ``(ii) so provides personal protective 
                        equipment to individuals working for the agency 
                        at no cost to the individual during such 
                        period; and
                    ``(B) for home health services furnished by a home 
                health agency in the case the Secretary finds the home 
                health agency is not in compliance with clauses (i) and 
                (ii) of subparagraph (A) for the period that--
                            ``(i) begins on the first day of such 
                        noncompliance; and
                            ``(ii) ending on the earlier of--
                                    ``(I) the last day of the 60-day 
                                period after the home health agency is 
                                in compliance with such subparagraphs; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) the day that is 10 days 
                                after the last day of the emergency 
                                period described in section 
                                1135(g)(1)(B); or
            ``(29) for home health services furnished by a home health 
        agency, unless the home health agency submits to the 
        Secretary--
                    ``(A) not later than 45 days after the date of the 
                enactment of this paragraph, an initial report that 
                specifies the number of deaths of individuals working 
                for the agency during the period beginning on the first 
                date of the emergency period described in section 
                1135(g)(1)(B) and ending on the date such report is 
                submitted, disaggregated by week; and
                    ``(B) reports to be submitted on a schedule to be 
                determined by the Secretary that specify the number of 
                deaths of individuals working for the agency during the 
                preceding 7-day period through the last day of such 
                emergency period.''.
    (c) Under the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.--
Any home health agency (as defined in section 1861(o) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(o)) that has received funding under the 
``PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES EMERGENCY FUND'' pursuant to title 
VIII of division B of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security Act (Public Law 116-136) or the first paragraph of title I of 
division B of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care 
Enhancement Act (Public Law 116-139) before the date of the enactment 
of this Act and does not comply with the requirements described in 
clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) and paragraph (2) of section 
1895(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395fff(f)) may not 
receive any additional funding under the ``PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL 
SERVICES EMERGENCY FUND'' until the date that the home health agency is 
in compliance with such requirements.
    (d) Publicly Available Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services shall make the reports required under 
        sections 1895(f)(2) and 1903(i)(29) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1395fff(f)(2); 1396b(i)(29)) and information 
        contained therein available to the public on the Internet 
        website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a 
        searchable format.
            (2) HIPAA compliant information only; privacy for 
        individual workers.--The Secretary may only make available the 
        information described in paragraph (1) to the extent permitted 
        under the Federal regulations (concerning the privacy of 
        individually identifiable health information) promulgated under 
        section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and 
        Accountability Act of 1996 and that prevents the identification 
        of individual workers.
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