Requires hospitals to share real-time ICU bed info, helping patients find critical care faster.
This bill would require hospitals that accept Medicare to share real-time information about their intensive care unit (ICU) beds. It would also make them create plans with nearby hospitals to transfer patients efficiently. This aims to help patients needing critical care find available beds more quickly, especially during emergencies, and extends funding authorization for hospital preparedness programs.
Today, hospitals are not required to report real-time intensive care unit bed availability. They also don't need shared patient transfer plans to participate in Medicare. This bill would require them to do both, starting one year after it becomes law. Also, the Public Health Service Act's hospital preparedness rules do not currently include patient transfer activities. These activities would help prevent overcrowding during a public health emergency. This bill would explicitly include these activities. It would also extend the authorization of appropriations for these programs through the government's budget year 2031. This authorization currently ends in the government's budget year 2023.
HR 8271 · 119th Congress · April 14, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10
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Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.