[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1974 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1974
To amend the Public Health Service Act to allow certain public health
data modernization grants to be used to track hospital bed capacity,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 5, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. McCormick, Mr. Tillis, Mr. King, Mr.
Mullin, and Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to allow certain public health
data modernization grants to be used to track hospital bed capacity,
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 ``Addressing Boarding and Crowding in
the Emergency Department Act of 2025'' or the ``ABC-ED Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ALLOWING PUBLIC HEALTH DATA MODERNIZATION GRANTS TO BE USED TO
TRACK HOSPITAL BED CAPACITY.
Section 2823(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300hh-33(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (B)(viii), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) award grants or cooperative agreements to
appropriate entities for the expansion and
modernization of public health data systems by--
``(i) developing State- or region-wide,
real-time (or near real-time), accurate, and
scalable systems for tracking--
``(I) hospital bed capacity; and
``(II) how such capacity affects
emergency department boarding rates,
wait times for treatment in emergency
departments, and the amount of time
emergency medical services personnel
are waiting in emergency departments to
offload patients; and
``(ii) establishing or maintaining a
public-facing dashboard of the information
tracked pursuant to systems described in clause
(i), with such information redacted in
accordance with applicable privacy laws.''.
SEC. 3. CENTER FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID INNOVATION PILOT PROGRAM.
Section 1115A(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1315a(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A), in the third sentence, by
inserting ``, and shall include the models described in clauses
(xxviii) and (xxix) of such subparagraph'' before the period at
the end; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the end the following
new clauses:
``(xxviii) Promoting research-based ways to
facilitate improved emergency care for
applicable individuals who are older adults,
including through--
``(I) sufficient, flexible, and
interdisciplinary staffing and
education of staff at emergency
departments;
``(II) changes to the physical
infrastructure of emergency
departments;
``(III) introducing geriatric-
focused policies, protocols, and
quality improvement metrics; and
``(IV) improving coordination
between emergency departments and post-
acute care facilities (including senior
care facilities such as skilled nursing
facilities, assisted living facilities,
and independent living facilities) with
respect to such individuals, which may
include the mutual, bidirectional
exchange of medical information and
improvements to the transfer process.
``(xxix) Promoting research-based ways to
facilitate improved emergency care for
applicable individuals experiencing acute
psychiatric crisis, including by--
``(I) implementing dedicated units
at emergency departments to provide
emergency care to such individuals; and
``(II) improving transfers between
emergency departments and post-acute
care facilities for such individuals,
which may include expedited placement
at such facilities.''.
SEC. 4. STUDY ON BEST PRACTICES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH DATA SYSTEMS FOR
TRACKING HOSPITAL CAPACITY.
(a) In General.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study--
(1) to determine best practices for the development and
maintenance of public health data systems for tracking hospital
capacity (including such systems supported pursuant to section
2823(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by
section 2) to ensure that such tracking--
(A) is State- or region-wide, real-time (or near
real-time), accurate, and scalable;
(B) includes tracking of hospital capacity with
respect to emergency departments, adult and pediatric
intensive care units, inpatient psychiatric services,
skilled nursing facilities, and other appropriate types
of facilities and services; and
(C) is seamlessly and directly integrated with
relevant hospital electronic medical records systems;
and
(2) to assess how implementation of such public health data
systems for tracking hospital capacity affects--
(A) emergency department boarding rates as
determined using quality measures and other metrics
that are established and utilized by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services and others accreditation
entities;
(B) wait times for treatment and discharge in
emergency departments; and
(C) the amount of time emergency medical services
personnel are waiting in emergency departments to
offload patients.
(b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall--
(1) complete the study under subsection (a); and
(2) submit to Congress a report on the results of such
study.
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