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.
The ICU Bed Act of 2026 requires hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals that participate in Medicare to report their intensive care unit bed availability in real time as a condition of continued participation in the program. Beginning one year after the law takes effect, hospitals in the same geographic region must share real-time data about available ICU beds with each other and develop coordinated strategies to transfer patients between facilities when one hospital reaches or nears capacity. The bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish these regions based on geography, population, and travel time between hospitals. The legislation also extends funding for state and regional hospital preparedness programs through fiscal year 2031 and specifically includes support for activities that help hospitals coordinate patient transfers during public health emergencies to prevent overcrowding.
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