To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to establish a definition of essential health system in statute and for other related purposes.

This bill adds a definition of "essential health system" to the federal Medicaid law. An essential health system would be a nonprofit or non-federal government hospital, paid under Medicare's standard inpatient system, that met one of three measures of serving Medicaid and low-income patients in at least two of the last three fiscal years. A hospital's designation would last 5 years and could be renewed. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) would send Congress a yearly list of these hospitals and publish index scores ranking each hospital locally, statewide, and nationally. MACPAC would also add to its agenda payment policies that use these criteria to give targeted support to these hospitals.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Lori Trahan Democrat sponsor
• 25 cosponsors