II 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3586 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 25 (legislative day, September 17), 2008 Mrs. Clinton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide loans to hospitals and nonprofit health care institutions to implement green building technologies, waste management techniques, and other environmentally sustainable practices to improve employee performance, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Green Hospitals, Healthy Hospitals Act of 2008.

2.

Loans for health care

(a)

In general

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act as the Secretary), acting in conjunction with the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall make available to eligible non-profit hospitals and non-profit health care institutions 30-year no interest loans to be used to assist such entities to carry out new construction or to make renovations that will— (1)enable such entities to achieve compliance with the guidelines of the Green Guide for Health Care; or (2)enable such entities to achieve compliance with any successor regulations determined appropriate by the Secretary. (b)

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a loan under subsection (a), a non-profit hospital or non-profit health care institution shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and agreements as the Secretary may require. (c)

General provisions relating to loans

(1)

Terms and conditions

The Secretary may not approve an application for a loan under this section unless the Secretary determines that the terms, conditions, security, and schedule and amount of repayments with respect to the loan are sufficient to protect the financial interests of the United States and are otherwise reasonable. (2)

Payments

The Secretary may not approve an application for a loan under this section unless— (A)the Secretary is reasonably satisfied that the applicant therefore will be able to make payments of principal thereon when due; and (B)the applicant provides the Secretary with reasonable assurances that there will be available to such applicant such additional funds as may be necessary to complete the project or undertaking with respect to which such loan is requested. (3)

Requirements

A loan made under this section shall— (A)have such security; (B)have such maturity date; (C)be repayable in such installments; and (D)be subject to such other terms and conditions (including provisions for recovery in case of default), as the Secretary determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section while adequately protecting the financial interests of the United States. (4)

Waiver or right of recovery

The Secretary may, for good cause but with due regard to the financial interests of the United States, waive any right of recovery which the Secretary has by reason of the failure of a applicant to make payments of principal on a loan made under this section. (d)

Regulations

Not later than 150 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall promulgate final regulations and rules (with a comment period that does not exceed 60 days), that shall be in addition to, and consistent with this Act that shall be used to determine eligibility for participation in the program under this section, the scope of such program, the purposes for which loan funds may be used, the application requirements, the security requirements, and the requirements for the administration and oversight of the program which shall include a system in which such loans are repaid to the United States. Such regulations shall provide that in determining the entities that are eligible for participation in such loan program and in approving the applications of such entities, the Secretary shall give priority consideration to non-profit hospitals or non-profit health institutions that have a low income utilization rate (as defined in section 1923(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396r–4(b)(3))) that is greater than 25 percent. (e)

Evaluations

Not later than 1 year after making a loan under this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of new or updated green health care guidelines developed by entities such as the United States Green Building Council, and determine whether such guidelines should be included in the requirements for the loan program established under this section. (f)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013. Of the amount appropriate for any fiscal year under the preceding sentence, such sums as are determined necessary by the Secretary shall be allocated to the Health Resource and Services Administration for the Administration of the program under this section. (g)

Carryover

Amounts appropriated for a fiscal year under subsection (f) that are not disbursed in such fiscal year may be carried forward to the next fiscal year to be used under this section and applied to that fiscal year’s allocation.

3.

Research for health care

(a)

Institute of Medicine

The Secretary shall enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine for the submission of a report on the ways in which the use of green building technologies, waste management techniques, and other environmentally sustainable practices improve employee performance, reduce health care costs, and improve patient outcomes. (b)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shall include in the health care quality report under section 913(b)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 299b–2(b)(2)), a section that summarizes the most recent research on green health care and the ways in which environmentally sustainable practices can improve employee performance, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes.