[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2236 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2236

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants 
in the form of forgiveable capital advances to help preserve community 
             hospitals experiencing financial difficulties.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 16, 1999

Mr. LaFalce (for himself, Ms. Kilpatrick, and Mr. Meeks) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants 
in the form of forgiveable capital advances to help preserve community 
             hospitals experiencing financial difficulties.

    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 ``Community Hospital Preservation 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--From any amounts made available to carry out this 
Act, the Secretary may make grants under this Act to eligible community 
hospitals.
    (b) Amount of Grant.--The aggregate amount of grant amounts 
provided to any single eligible community hospital that is awarded a 
grant may not be--
            (1) less than $100,000;
            (2) greater than $2,500,000; or
            (3) greater than 10 percent of the total assets of the 
        hospital.
    (c) Matching Requirement.--The Secretary may not award grant 
amounts under this Act to any eligible community hospital for any 
fiscal year in an amount that exceeds the amount that the hospital 
receives, in cash contributions, loans, or any combination thereof, for 
that fiscal year from non-Federal sources.
    (d) Hospitals With HUD-Insured Mortgages.--The Secretary may not 
award grant amounts under this Act to a hospital that is subject to a 
mortgage insured by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
under section 242 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-7) 
unless the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development approves the 
award before the date of the award.

SEC. 3. USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.

    Grant amounts under this Act may be used only for legitimate 
hospital purposes.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

    The Secretary may award grant amounts under this Act only to an 
eligible community hospital that has submitted an application to the 
Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, 
and containing such information and certifications as the Secretary may 
require to ensure compliance with this Act.

SEC. 5. SELECTION CRITERIA.

    The Secretary shall award grant amounts under this Act in 
accordance with competitive criteria established by the Secretary.

SEC. 6. RECOVERY OF GRANT AMOUNTS.

    (a) Recovery.--For each award of grant amounts under this Act, the 
Secretary shall recover, upon the date specified in subsection (b), the 
amount specified in subsection (c).
    (b) Date of Recovery.--The date specified in this subsection is the 
first to occur of the following:
            (1) The date on which the recipient fails to comply 
        substantially with section 3.
            (2) The date on which the recipient fails to be a hospital 
        that meets the requirements of any of subparagraphs (A), (B), 
        and (C) of section 8(1).
            (3) The date of the expiration of the 10-year period 
        beginning on the date of the award.
    (c) Amount of Recovery and Forgiveness of Such Amount.--The amount 
specified in this subsection is an amount equal to the amount of the 
award, reduced by 10 percent of the amount of such award for each full 
year from the date of the award through the date specified in 
subsection (b) throughout which the recipient continues to be a 
hospital that meets the requirements of any one or more of 
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 8(1).
    (d) Manner of Recovery.--Any amount that the Secretary recovers 
under this section shall be recovered as if such amount had been loaned 
by the Secretary on the date specified in subsection (b), amortized 
over a 20-year period, with interest at a rate equal to the average 
annual cost of borrowing by the Department of the Treasury.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Congress a report describing the activities carried out under 
this Act in the preceding calendar year and containing any related 
information that the Secretary considers appropriate.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Eligible community hospital.--The term ``eligible 
        community hospital'' means a hospital that meets the following 
        requirements:
                    (A) The hospital is nonprofit.
                    (B) The hospital has total assets of not more than 
                $75,000,000.
                    (C) The hospital is an essential source of basic 
                hospital health care services within the community in 
                which the hospital is located.
                    (D) The hospital meets objective financial 
                criteria, to be established by the Secretary, that 
                indicate the hospital is experiencing ongoing financial 
                difficulties.
                    (E) The hospital is operating in an efficient 
                manner or has a viable financial recovery plan reviewed 
                by an independent public accountant, or financial 
                consultant, who has expertise in the industry of 
                providing health care services.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 9. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out 
this Act.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For grants under this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated 
to the Secretary $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 
2004, to remain available until expended.
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