[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3014 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3014


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 19, 2009

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 
                          and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To amend the Small Business Act to provide loan guarantees for the 
acquisition of health information technology by eligible professionals 
       in solo and small group practices, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Small Business Health Information 
Technology Financing Act''.

SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FINANCING PROGRAM.

    The Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended by 
redesignating section 44 as section 45 and by inserting the following 
new section after section 43:

``SEC. 44. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

    ``(a) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) The term `health information technology' means 
        computer hardware, software, and related technology that 
        supports the meaningful EHR use requirements set forth in 
        section 1848(o)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395w-4(o)(2)(A)) and is purchased by an eligible professional 
        to aid in the provision of health care in a health care 
        setting, including, but not limited to, electronic medical 
        records, and that provides for--
                    ``(A) enhancement of continuity of care for 
                patients through electronic storage, transmission, and 
                exchange of relevant personal health data and 
                information, such that this information is accessible 
                at the times and places where clinical decisions will 
                be or are likely to be made;
                    ``(B) enhancement of communication between patients 
                and health care providers;
                    ``(C) improvement of quality measurement by 
                eligible professionals enabling them to collect, store, 
                measure, and report on the processes and outcomes of 
                individual and population performance and quality of 
                care;
                    ``(D) improvement of evidence-based decision 
                support; or
                    ``(E) enhancement of consumer and patient 
                empowerment.
        Such term shall not include information technology whose sole 
        use is financial management, maintenance of inventory of basic 
        supplies, or appointment scheduling.
            ``(2) The term `eligible professional' means any of the 
        following:
                    ``(A) A physician (as defined in section 1861(r) of 
                the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(r))).
                    ``(B) A practitioner described in section 
                1842(b)(18)(C) of that Act.
                    ``(C) A physical or occupational therapist or a 
                qualified speech-language pathologist.
                    ``(D) A qualified audiologist (as defined in 
                section 1861(ll)(3)(B)) of that Act.
                    ``(E) A qualified medical transcriptionist who is 
                either certified by or registered with the Association 
                for Healthcare Documentation Integrity, or a successor 
                association thereto.
                    ``(F) A State-licensed pharmacist.
                    ``(G) A State-licensed supplier of durable medical 
                equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, or supplies.
                    ``(H) A State-licensed, a State-certified, or a 
                nationally accredited home health care provider.
            ``(3) The term `qualified eligible professional' means an 
        eligible professional whose office can be classified as a small 
        business concern by the Administrator for purposes of this Act 
        under size standards established under section 3 of this Act.
            ``(4) The term `qualified medical transcriptionist' means a 
        specialist in medical language and the healthcare documentation 
        process who interprets and transcribes dictation by physicians 
        and other healthcare professionals to ensure accurate, 
        complete, and consistent documentation of healthcare 
        encounters.
    ``(b) Loan Guarantees for Qualified Eligible Professionals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        Administrator may guarantee up to 90 percent of the amount of a 
        loan made to a qualified eligible professional to be used for 
        the acquisition of health information technology for use in 
        such eligible professional's medical practice and for the costs 
        associated with the installation of such technology. Except as 
        otherwise provided in this section, the terms and conditions 
        that apply to loans made under section 7(a) of this Act shall 
        apply to loan guarantees made under this section.
            ``(2) Limitations on guarantee amounts.--The maximum amount 
        of loan principal guaranteed under this subsection may not 
        exceed--
                    ``(A) $350,000 with respect to any single qualified 
                eligible professional; and
                    ``(B) $2,000,000 with respect to a single group of 
                affiliated qualified eligible professionals.
    ``(c) Fees.--(1) The Administrator may impose a guarantee fee on 
the borrower for the purpose of reducing the cost (as defined in 
section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) of the 
guarantee to zero in an amount not to exceed 2 percent of the total 
guaranteed portion of any loan guaranteed under this section. The 
Administrator may also impose annual servicing fees on lenders not to 
exceed 0.5 percent of the outstanding balance of the guarantees on 
lenders' books.
    ``(2) No service fees, processing fees, origination fees, 
application fees, points, brokerage fees, bonus points, or other fees 
may be charged to a loan applicant or recipient by a lender in the case 
of a loan guaranteed under this section.
    ``(d) Deferral Period.--Loans guaranteed under this section shall 
carry a deferral period of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 
years. The Administrator shall have the authority to subsidize interest 
during the deferral period.
    ``(e) Effective Date.--No loan may be guaranteed under this section 
until the meaningful EHR use requirements have been determined by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
    ``(f) Sunset.--No loan may be guaranteed under this section after 
the date that is 7 years after meaningful EHR use requirements have 
been determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary for the cost (as defined in 
section 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) of 
guaranteeing $10,000,000,000 in loans under this section. The 
Administrator shall determine such program cost separately and 
distinctly from other programs operated by the Administrator.''.

SEC. 3. REGULATIONS.

    Except as otherwise provided in this Act or in amendments made by 
this Act, after an opportunity for notice and comment, but not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Administrator shall issue regulations to carry out this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 2009.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.