Title: To enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to temporarily maintain eligibility for such program, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This bill waives certain eligibility requirements for hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program (i.e., a program that allows entities to receive covered outpatient drugs at reduced prices from manufacturers) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. Specifically, the bill waives the required minimum proportion of low-income patients served for hospitals that began participating in the program during or prior to the COVID-19 emergency.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3203 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3203

 To enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for 
   the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health 
     Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to 
   temporarily maintain eligibility for such program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2021

  Ms. Matsui (for herself, Mr. Stewart, Mrs. Axne, Mr. McKinley, Ms. 
 Spanberger, and Mr. Johnson of South Dakota) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To enable certain hospitals that were participating in or applied for 
   the drug discount program under section 340B of the Public Health 
     Service Act prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency to 
   temporarily maintain eligibility for such program, 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. ELIGIBILITY EXCEPTION FOR THE DRUG DISCOUNT PROGRAM DUE TO 
              THE COVID-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) DSH adjustment percentage treatment.--Notwithstanding 
        any other provision of law, a hospital described in subsection 
        (b) that, for an applicable calendar quarter, otherwise meets 
        the requirements for being a covered entity under subparagraph 
        (L), (M), or (O) of subsection (a)(4) of section 340B of the 
        Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b) but that, for such 
        calendar quarter, does not meet the applicable requirement for 
        the disproportionate share adjustment percentage described in 
        subsection (c), shall be deemed to meet such applicable 
        requirement under such respective subparagraph for such 
        applicable calendar quarter (including any such quarter 
        occurring before the date of the enactment of this Act).
            (2) Treatment of certain entities.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, a hospital described in subsection (b) 
        that, on the day before the first day of the COVID-19 public 
        health emergency (or at any point during such emergency), was a 
        covered entity described in subparagraph (L) of subsection 
        (a)(4) of section 340B of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 256b), but that, for an applicable calendar quarter, did 
        not meet the requirement described in subparagraph (L)(ii) of 
        such subsection and, during the COVID-19 public health 
        emergency, registered as a covered entity described in 
        subparagraph (O) of such subsection, may elect to be deemed to 
        be a covered entity described in subparagraph (L) of such 
        subsection for such applicable calendar quarter, and for any 
        other quarter occurring during such emergency during which such 
        entity was so registered as a covered entity described in 
        subparagraph (O) of such subsection, provided that, for such 
        applicable calendar quarter and any such other quarter, the 
        entity met the requirements described in subsection (a)(5) of 
        such section and, beginning on the date on which the entity 
        makes such election, the entity meets the requirement described 
        in subparagraph (L)(iii) of subsection (a)(4) of such section.
    (b) Hospitals.--A hospital described in this subsection is--
            (1) an entity that, on the day before the first day of the 
        COVID-19 public health emergency, was a covered entity 
        described in subparagraph (L), (M), or (O) of subsection (a)(4) 
        of section 340B of the Public Health Service Act participating 
        in the drug discount program under such section; or
            (2) an entity that--
                    (A) prior to or during the COVID-19 public health 
                emergency, submitted an application for participation 
                in such program as a covered entity described in 
                subparagraph (L), (M), or (O) of section 340B(a)(4) of 
                the Public Health Service Act;
                    (B) prior to or during such emergency, was approved 
                for such participation; and
                    (C) during such emergency, began participating in 
                such program.
    (c) Applicable Requirement for Disproportionate Share Adjustment 
Percentage.--The applicable requirement for the disproportionate share 
adjustment percentage described in this subsection is--
            (1) in the case of a hospital described in subsection (a) 
        that otherwise meets the requirements under subparagraph (L) or 
        (M) of section 340B(a)(4) of the Public Health Service Act, the 
        requirement under subparagraph (L)(ii) of such section; and
            (2) in the case of a hospital described in subsection (a) 
        that otherwise meets the requirements under subparagraph (O) of 
        such section 340B(a)(4), the requirement with respect to the 
        disproportionate share adjustment percentage described in such 
        subparagraph (O).
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Applicable calendar quarter.--The term ``applicable 
        calendar quarter'' means a calendar quarter for which 
        eligibility for the drug discount program under section 340B of 
        the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b) is based on a 
        cost reporting period for which the COVID-19 public health 
        emergency is in effect for all or part of such cost reporting 
        period.
            (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 340B(a)(4) of the Public 
        Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256b(a)(4)).
            (3) COVID-19 public health emergency.--The term ``COVID-19 
        public health emergency'' means the public health emergency 
        declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under 
        section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) 
        on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID-19.
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