,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hefh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #i1 #bjbj,mr4 ,pascrell 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,sherrill1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,mr4 ,doggett1 ,ms4 ,shalala1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 and ,mr4 ,kildee7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xviii and title ,,xix of the ,social ,security ,act to codify certain infection control and emergency preparedness regulations1 to prohibit a reduction in the frequency of surveys of skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities1 to prohibit the waiver of certain reporting requirements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,promoting ,restoration of ,emergency ,preparedness and ,advancing ,response to ,epidemics in ,long-,term ,care ,act or the ,,prepare ,,ltc ,act4 #b4 ,codifying infection control and emergency preparedness regulations for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities as a requirement for participation under the ,medicare and ,medicaid programs 7a7 ,infection control regulations 7#a7 ,medicare ,section #ahai7;d77#c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;i-#c7;d77#c77 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 as clauses 7i7 and 7ii71 respectively1 and moving such clauses #b ems to the right2 7,b7 by striking environment4-- ,a skilled nursing facility must-- and inserting environment4-- 7,a7 ,in general ,a skilled nursing facility must-- 2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,b7 ,application statement ,for purposes of carrying out this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall apply by reference the provisions of section #dhc4hj of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7as in effect on the date of the enactment of the ,promoting ,restoration of ,emergency ,preparedness and ,advancing ,response to ,epidemics in ,long-,term ,care ,act71 except in applying subsection 7g7 of such regulation-- 7i7 any reference to ,,covid-#ai shall be treated as a reference to an infectious disease outbreak1 as defined in subparagraph 7,c72 and 7ii7 any reference to ventilator capacity shall be treated as a reference to medical equipment and supplies critical to the infectious disease outbreak1 including ventilator capacity4 7,c7 ,infectious disease outbreak defined ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,b71 the term infectious disease outbreak means any of the following periods3 7i7 ,,covid-#ai emergency period ,the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b774 7ii7 ,other infectious disease outbreak periods 7,i7 ,the period beginning on the date a nationwide emergency related to a public health emergency is declared pursuant to the ,stafford ,act1 a ,major ,disaster ,declaration1 or the ,national ,emergencies ,act and ending on the date that is #f months after the date on which the declaration pursuant to the ,stafford ,act1 a ,major ,disaster ,declaration1 or the ,national ,emergencies ,act1 as applicable1 ends1 whichever is the latest4 7,,ii7 ,the period during which there exists a public health emergency related to an infectious disease outbreak declared by the ,secretary pursuant to section #cai of the ,public ,health ,service ,act4 7,,iii7 ,with respect to a skilled nursing facility in a ,state with respect to which the ,governor has declared an emergency or major disaster 7as defined by the ,state7 with respect to an infectious disease outbreak1 the period for which such declaration is in effect with respect to such ,state4 4 7#b7 ,medicaid ,section #aiai7;d77#c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acifr7d77#c77 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 as clauses 7i7 and 7ii71 respectively1 and moving such clauses #b ems to the right2 7,b7 by striking environment4-- ,a nursing facility must-- and inserting environment4-- 7,a7 ,in general ,a nursing facility must-- 2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following new subparagraph3 7,b7 ,application statement ,for purposes of carrying out this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall apply by reference the provisions of section #dhc4hj of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7as in effect on the date of the enactment of the ,promoting ,restoration of ,emergency ,preparedness and ,advancing ,response to ,epidemics in ,long-,term ,care ,act71 except in applying subsection 7g7 of such regulation-- 7i7 any reference to ,,covid-#ai shall be treated as a reference to an infectious disease outbreak1 as defined in subparagraph 7,c72 and 7ii7 any reference to ventilator capacity shall be treated as a reference to medical equipment and supplies critical to the infectious disease outbreak1 including ventilator capacity4 7,c7 ,infectious disease outbreak defined ,the term infectious disease outbreak has the meaning given such term in section #ahai7;d77#c77;,c74 4 7b7 ,emergency preparedness regulations 7#a7 ,medicare ,section #ahai7;d7 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#e7 ,emergency preparedness ,a skilled nursing facility shall meet the requirements applicable to skilled nursing facilities under the provisions of section #dhc4gc of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7as in effect on the date of the enactment of the ,restoring ,safety and ,transparency for ,long-,term ,care ,residents ,act74 4 7#b7 ,medicaid ,section #aiai7;d7 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#e7 ,emergency preparedness ,a nursing facility shall meet the requirements applicable to nursing facilities under the provisions of section #dhc4gc of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7as in effect on the date of the enactment of the ,promoting ,restoration of ,emergency ,preparedness and ,advancing ,response to ,epidemics in ,long-,term ,care ,act74 4 7c7 ,requirement ,to issue guidance ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall issue guidance to carry out the amendments made by this section4 7d7 ,public availability of data on deficiencies in infection control and direct care staffing in skilled nursing facilities ,not later than #b weeks after the beginning of a period of an infectious disease outbreak 7as defined in subparagraph 7,c7 of subsection 7d77#c7 of section #ahai of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;i-#c71 as added by subsection 7a77#a771 7or1 in the case of the ,,covid-#ai emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b771 not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act71 the ,administrator of the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services shall make publicly available on the internet website of the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services data on deficiencies identified during the survey process described under subsection 7g7 of such section1 with respect to infection control and direct care staffing in a skilled nursing facility 7as defined in subsection 7a7 of such section74 ,such data so posted1 with respect to an infectious disease outbreak 7as defined in subparagraph 7,c7 of such subsection 7d77#c771 shall be updated every two weeks until the end of the period of such outbreak4 #c4 ,prohibition on reducing frequency of standard surveys 7a7 ,medicare ,section #ahai7;g77#b77;,a77iii7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subclause3 7,,iii7 ,prohibition on reducing frequency of surveys conducted during an infectious disease outbreak ,the ,secretary shall not reduce the frequency of surveys conducted under this section during an infectious disease outbreak 7as defined in subsection 7d77#c77;,c774 4 7b7 ,medicaid ,section #aiai7;g77#b77;,a77iii7 is amended by adding at the end the following new subclause3 7,i7 ,prohibition on reducing frequency of surveys conducted during an infectious disease outbreak ,the ,secretary shall not reduce the frequency of surveys conducted under this section during an infectious disease outbreak 7as defined in section #ahai7;d77#c77;,c774 4 #d4 ,prohibition on waiving submissions of direct care staffing information ,section #aabh;,i7g7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;a-#g;j7g77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking and at the end2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#d71 by striking the period and inserting 2 and2 7#c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#d7 the following new paragraph3 7#e7 shall be submitted not less frequently than quarterly1 on a schedule specified by the ,secretary4 2 and 7#d7 by adding at the end the following new sentence3 ,the ,secretary shall not waive the requirements of this subsection in the case of an infectious disease outbreak 7as defined in section #ahai7;d77#c77;,c7744 #e4 ,,gao study and report ,not later than one year after the end of the ,,covid-#ai emergency period 7as described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b771 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate a report analyzing deficiencies during such period in infection control measures and direct care staffing requirements for skilled nursing facilities 7as defined in section #ahai7;a7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;i-#c7;a7771 as reported by the ,administrator under section #b7;d77#a74 #f4 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this ,act shall apply with respect to skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act4