[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9844 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9844
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to
long-term care and post-acute care providers for purposes of developing
and adopting health information technology.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2026
Mr. Cleaver introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to
long-term care and post-acute care providers for purposes of developing
and adopting health information technology.
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 ``Connecting Health and Records
Technology for Seniors Act of 2026'' or the ``CHARTS Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR LONG-TERM CARE AND POST-ACUTE CARE PROVIDERS TO USE
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall, not later than 2
years after the date of the enactment of this section, award grants to
long-term care and post-acute care providers for purposes of carrying
out the activities described in subsection (d).
(b) Duration of Grants.--A grant awarded under this section shall
be for a period of 3 years.
(c) Amount of Grants.--The Secretary may not award more than
$500,000 in grant funds under this section to a long-term care and
post-acute care provider.
(d) Use of Funds.--A long-term care and post-acute care provider
that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant to
develop and adopt health information technology (as defined in section
3000(5) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj(5))) that
will be used by such provider to--
(1) facilitate communication, coordination, and the
electronic exchange of data, including patient health data,
among health care providers, group health plans and health
insurance issuers, Federal health care programs, and health
benefits plans under chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code;
(2) improve effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of care
through the use of clinical decision support, care pathways,
plans of care, the United States Core Data for Interoperability
published by the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology, notifications, monitoring, interoperability, and
other similar tools; and
(3) implement systems and best practices to--
(A) enhance the transition of care between health
care providers;
(B) prevent health care providers from furnishing
duplicative services to an individual;
(C) exchange data among the entities described in
paragraph (1) in real time; and
(D) address patient needs.
(e) Selecting Among Applicants.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Secretary shall--
(1) give priority to long-term care and post-acute
providers that are more likely to improve the health of
individuals entitled to benefits or enrolled under the Medicare
program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395 et seq.) and individuals enrolled under a State plan (or
waiver of such plan) under title XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1396 et seq.); and
(2) ensure that the grant recipients constitute a diverse
and nationally representative sample based on--
(A) the geography, income, race, and ethnicity of
the population served by such recipients; and
(B) the extent to which such population consists of
individuals that are uninsured, that receive coverage
under a Federal health care program, or that receive
coverage under a group health plan or group or
individual health insurance coverage.
(f) Reports.--
(1) Preliminary report.--Not later than 3 years after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions of the Senate, the Committee on Finance of the Senate,
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives, a report identifying the long-term
care and post-acute care providers that are awarded grants
under this section.
(2) Final report.--Not later than 6 years after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to
the committees described in paragraph (1), a report that--
(A) describes the health information technology
developed and adopted using grants awarded under this
section;
(B) evaluates how such health information
technology improved the coordination of care and
transition of care among long-term care and post-acute
care providers;
(C) evaluates the benefits and costs of such health
information technology, including by identifying to
whom such benefits and costs accrue;
(D) evaluates whether such health information
technology resulted in--
(i) reduced patient falls and
rehospitalizations;
(ii) an increase in electronic medication
management; and
(iii) reduced Federal expenditures under
the Medicare program under title XVIII of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) or
the Medicaid program under title XIX of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
(E) evaluates the likelihood that extending or
expanding the ability of the Secretary to award grants
under this section would result in reduced Federal
expenditures and improve the quality of care under such
programs; and
(F) includes recommendations for Congress on
extending and expanding the ability of the Secretary to
award grants under this section based on the evaluation
conducted under this paragraph.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Federal health care program.--The term ``Federal health
care program'' has the meaning given such term in section
1128B(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(f)).
(2) Group or individual health insurance coverage; group
health plan; health insurance issuer.--The terms ``group health
insurance coverage'', ``group health plan'', ``health insurance
issuer'', and ``individual health insurance coverage'' have the
meanings given such terms in section 2791 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91).
(3) Long-term care and post-acute care provider.--The term
``long-term care and post-acute care provider'' means a skilled
nursing facility (as defined in section 1819(a) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i-3(a))), nursing facility (as
defined in section 1919(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396r(a))), or a home health agency (as defined in
section 1861(o) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x(o))), that has in effect an agreement to participate in
the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) or the Medicaid program under
title XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $5,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028.
<all>