This bill requires state, territorial, and tribal health departments to report weekly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the surge capacity and availability of personal protective equipment for hospitals in their jurisdictions to respond to increased COVID-19 cases. It also requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving COVID-19 funding, to provide specified data to their respective health departments every two weeks and post online their COVID-19 testing, infection control, and related policies.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8938 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8938
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to
establish a standardized procedure for all States to submit weekly
reports on hospital policies and metrics related to the response to
COVID-19, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 10, 2020
Ms. Gabbard introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to
establish a standardized procedure for all States to submit weekly
reports on hospital policies and metrics related to the response to
COVID-19, 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. STANDARDIZING COVID-19 DATA REPORTING.
(a) In General.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and in collaboration with the
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall
establish a standardized procedure for all States, acting
through the State departments of health (or other State
agencies that administer public health programs), to submit in
an electronic format, on a weekly basis, to the Secretary
reports that include the information specified in paragraphs
(3) and (4).
(a) Hospital Reports.--Beginning on the date that is 2 weeks after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 weeks thereafter
until the date that is 6 months after the date on which the emergency
period ends, each hospital (or affiliated facility or site thereof)
that received COVID-19 response funding shall, as a condition on
receipt of such funding, submit to the relevant State department of
health the following information regarding COVID-19:
(1) With respect to the hospital's (or affiliated facility
or site thereof) COVID-19 caseload--
(A) the total number (if greater than zero) of
COVID-19 cases during the emergency period;
(B) the number of such cases to date;
(C) how many patients infected with COVID-19--
(i) have been discharged; and
(ii) have died (and the underlying cause,
other than COVID-19, for such deaths); and
(D) how many staff members of the hospital (or
affiliated facility or site thereof) have been infected
with COVID-19 and the outcomes from those cases.
(2) With respect to testing for COVID-19 conducted by the
hospital (or affiliated facility or site thereof)--
(A) the type of tests conducted;
(B) the location where the tests are being sent for
analysis;
(C) the turnaround time on results of such tests;
(D) the total tests performed to date; and
(E) the results of such tests, disaggregated by
positive, negative, or antibodies present.
(3) With respect to the hospital's (or affiliated facility
or site thereof) COVID-19 surge capacity--
(A) the current bed availability in the hospital
(or affiliated facility or site thereof) under non-
surge conditions and the availability of intensive care
unit beds;
(B) whether the hospital (or affiliated facility or
site thereof) has established or retrofitted new COVID-
19 wards;
(C) the current ventilator capacity; and
(D) any other relevant statistics are determined by
the Secretary.
(4) With respect to personal protective equipment, the
current availability of all relevant personal protective
equipment at the hospital (or affiliated facility or site
thereof), including whether there are shortages of such
equipment or other necessary treatment equipment for COVID-19.
(e) Hospital Policy Reports.--
(1) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 2 weeks
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 weeks
thereafter until the date that is 6 months after the date on
which the emergency period ends, each hospital (or affiliated
facility or site thereof) that received COVID-19 response
funding shall, as a condition on receipt of such funding,
maintain a standardized, comprehensive, publicly available
website detailing the hospital's (or affiliated facility or
site thereof) COVID-19-related policies and procedures that--
(A) is available in multiple languages;
(B) is published in an accessible manner;
(C) is updated on a weekly basis; and
(D) contains the information described in paragraph
(2).
(2) Information described.--The information described in
this section is the following:
(A) COVID-19 testing standards, policies,
requirements, and criteria for patients, visitors, and
staff (medical and non-medical).
(B) COVID-19 infection control and prevention,
including personal protective equipment usage and
disinfection, visitor guidance, patient placement and
triage (such as procedures to isolate patients infected
with COVID-19), best practices for staff, patients, and
visitors, and whether staff are working both within and
outside of COVID-19 units or wards.
(C) Protocols for staff to leave from and return to
work after being in contact with a COVID-19 positive
case or testing positive for COVID-19.
(D) The availability of telehealth, access to
services (including the rate of payment for such
services).
(E) Policies and procedures for surgeries unrelated
to COVID-19.
(F) Internal contact tracing policies, if any.
(G) Any other policy the Secretary, acting through
the Director, determines is applicable.
(f) Data Requirements.--
(1) Disaggregation.--All data reported under this section
with respect to COVID-19 patients shall be disaggregated by
age, sex, race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors as may
be specified by the Secretary.
(2) Privacy.--Any information collected pursuant to this
section with respect to COVID-19 patients shall be de-
identified and otherwise subject to all applicable Federal and
State privacy laws.
(g) Funding.--The Secretary shall use to carry out this section
funding made available under the third paragraph under the heading
``Department of Health and Human Services--Office of the Secretary--
Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund'' of the CARES Act
(Public Law 116-136; 134 Stat. 563).
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives;
(B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives;
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate; and
(F) the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
(2) The term ``COVID-19 response funding'' means Federal
funding received under--
(A) the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Public Law 116-
123), or an amendment made by that Act;
(B) the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
(Public Law 116-127), or an amendment made by that Act;
(C) the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136), or an
amendment made by that Act;
(D) the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care
Enhancement Act (Public Law 116-139), or an amendment
made by that Act; or
(E) any other Federal law under which Federal
assistance is provided to States and other non-Federal
entities for purposes of responding to COVID-19.
(3) The term ``emergency period'' has the meaning given
such term in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)).
(4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
(5) The term ``State'' means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific
Islands, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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