,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ceeh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bg1 #bjai,mr4 
,engel 7for himself and ,mr4 ,king of   
,new ,york7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,health and ,human ,services to conduct 
a study on the state of hospital        
infrastructure in the ,united ,states1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
#bast ,century ,hospitals ,act4  #b4    
,,hhs study on hospital infrastructure  
7a7 ,study ,the ,secretary of ,health   
and ,human ,services1 in consultation   
with ,state departments of health and   
other public health entities1 shall     
conduct a study on the state of hospital
 infrastructure in the ,united ,states4 
7b7 ,topics ,the study under subsection 
7a7 shall include the following3 7#a7   
,an assessment of barriers to accessing 
capital for infrastructure at hospitals 

serving vulnerable populations1 such as 
hospitals described in section          
#ahhf7;d77#e77;,f77i7 of the ,social    
,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4           
#acieww7d77#e77;,f77i71 relating to     
disproportionate share payments71 sole  
community hospitals 7as defined in      
section #ahhf7;d77#e77;,d77iii7 of such 
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4                     
#acieww7d77#e77;,f77i771 critical access
 hospitals 7as defined in section       
#ahfa7mm77#a7 of such ,act 7#db         
,u4,s4,c4 #aciex7mm77#a771 and public   
hospitals1 including--  7,a7            
recommendations for addressing such     
barriers1 which may include             
recommendations for grants or low-cost  
borrowing vehicles2  7,b7 analysis of   
the impact of such barriers on managing 
infrastructure at such hospitals1       
including with respect to life-safety   
issues and emergency preparedness2 and  
7,c7 identification of public funds that
 are available for-- 7i7 bringing such  
hospitals into compliance with          

applicable laws2 and  7ii7 ensuring that
 such hospitals and the communities they
 serve are appropriately prepared for   
responding to emergencies including     
public health emergencies4  7#b7 ,an    
assessment of the state of health       
information technology at hospitals in  
the ,united ,states1 including--  7,a7  
the state of electronic medical records 
and the dependence of hospitals and     
health systems on technology that is    
outdated or debunked2 and  7,b7 barriers
 associated with updating health        
information technology1 including with  
respect to hardware1 software1          
administrative burden1 staff training1  
and associated costs4  7c7 ,report ,not 
later than #a year after the date of    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,health and ,human ,services shall   
complete the study under this section   
and submit a report on the results of   
such study to the ,committee on ,energy 
and ,commerce of the ,house of          
,representatives and the ,committee on  

,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and        
,pensions of the ,senate4