[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1737 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1737
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Grant Program through which the
Secretary may make grants to qualified applicants, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 23, 2023
Mr. Kim of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Carey, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr.
Molinaro, and Ms. Perez) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Grant Program through which the
Secretary may make grants to qualified applicants, 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 ``Supporting Our First Responders
Act''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Emergency Medical Services Grant Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish
a program, to be known as the ``Emergency Medical Services
(EMS) Grant Program'' (in this section referred to as the
``Program''), through which the Secretary shall award grants on
a competitive basis to qualified applicants.
(2) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant under the
Program, a qualified applicant shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such a time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require, including the
following:
(A) A description of the financial need of the
qualified applicant.
(B) An analysis of the costs and benefits, with
respect to improving medical transport and emergency
medical services (referred to in this section as
``EMS''), of the activities to be carried out through
the grant.
(3) Joint applications.--A qualified applicant may submit a
joint application with one or more other qualified applicants
under this subsection.
(4) Peer review of grant applications.--The Secretary,
after consultation with national qualified applicants, shall
appoint representatives of volunteer, governmental, Tribal,
for-profit, and nonprofit qualified applicants and entities to
conduct peer review of applications.
(5) Selection considerations.--In awarding grants under the
Program the Secretary shall consider each of the following:
(A) The findings and recommendations of the peer
reviews carried out under paragraph (4).
(B) The degree to which an award will improve the
coverage, response times, and ability of qualified
applicants to provide medical transport and emergency
medical services.
(C) The extent of the need of an applicant for a
grant under this subsection and the need to protect the
United States as a whole.
(D) Whether a qualified applicant has previously
received Federal funding.
(6) Prioritization among for-profit qualified applicants.--
In awarding grants under the Program, the Secretary shall, in
selecting among qualified applicants that operate for profit,
give priority to such applicants that are smaller for profit
entities, determined on an annual basis based on the net
profits of the entity and the number of employees hired during
the preceding year.
(b) Purposes.--Grants made under the Program may be used by
recipient qualified applicants for the following purposes:
(1) Maintaining, or, if appropriate, increasing, the number
of trained front-line EMS responders, whether paid or
volunteer, including providing salaries and stipends.
(2) Providing mental health programs for qualified
applicant personnel.
(3) Covering or reimbursing costs associated with
certification and recertification courses.
(4) Obtaining resources, including purchasing personal
protective equipment, uniforms, medicine, and medical supplies.
(5) Constructing or modifying facilities in such a way so
as to improve coverage, response time, and ability of qualified
applicants to provide medical transport and emergency medical
services.
(6) Upgrading or purchasing EMS vehicles, communications
equipment, and mapping equipment.
(7) Establishing or supporting community paramedicine or
mobile integrated healthcare initiatives.
(c) Allocation of Grant Awards.--
(1) Limitation.--
(A) For profit.--
(i) In general.--Not more than two percent
of grants awarded under the Program may be made
available to qualified applicants that operate
for profit or to otherwise support efforts to
establish or provide emergency medical
services, or medical transport, for profit.
(ii) Maximum amount.--A grant under the
Program to such a for-profit qualified
applicant (if singly) or to such qualified
applicants (if a result of a joint application)
or to otherwise so support such efforts shall
be in an amount not to exceed $100,000.
(iii) Purposes.--A qualified applicant that
operates for profit may use funds awarded
through a grant under the Program only for the
purposes specified in paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) of subsection (b).
(B) Time-based.--A for-profit qualified applicant
(if singly) or qualified applicants (if a result of a
joint application) awarded a grant under the Program
may not apply for another such award for a period of
three years.
(2) Further limitation.--A grant under the Program to a
not-for-profit qualified applicant or a joint application shall
be in an amount not to exceed $300,000.
(3) Reservation.--Not less than 20 percent of grants
awarded under the Program shall be made available to qualified
applicants in rural areas.
(d) Metrics.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
develop metrics to assess the effectiveness of the Program in improving
the coverage, response times, and ability of qualified applicants to
provide medical transport and emergency medical services.
(e) Claw Backs.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
make every available effort to recover grant funds in case of
noncompliance. To carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall
establish a process through which notification is conveyed to qualified
applicants determined to be in noncompliance, and such organizations
are provided an opportunity to respond to such notification prior to
the recovery of such funds.
(f) Assessments; Reports.--Not later than two years after the date
of the enactment of this Act and not less frequently than biennially
after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
(1) conduct an assessment of the Program based on the
metrics developed pursuant to subsection (d); and
(2) submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report
summarizing the findings of the assessment and recommendations
to strengthen the overall program.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services--
(1) for each of the first 5 fiscal years following the date
of the enactment of this Act, $50,000,000 to carry out the
Program; and
(2) for each of such fiscal years, $5,000,000 to provide
technical assistance to qualified applicants completing and
submitting applications.
(h) Reports.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administrator of the
Health Resources and Services Administration, the Assistant
Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and EMS stakeholders,
shall submit to Congress a report that--
(A) details the challenges, disparities, and
inadequacies in providing Federal, State, and private
(including commercial insurers) reimbursement for
medical transport and emergency medical services; and
(B) provides recommendations for improvement with
respect to providing such reimbursement.
(2) Qualified applicants.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, in consultation with the Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administrator
of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and EMS
stakeholders, shall submit to Congress a report that--
(A) describes the challenges specific to qualified
applicants, including with respect to Federal, State,
and private (including private insurers) reimbursement
rates and policies; and
(B) contains an action plan to address such
challenges through grants and other administrative
action.
(3) Establishing a federal ems office.--Not later than 90
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, the Administrator of the Health Resources and
Services Administration, the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response, and EMS stakeholders, shall submit
to Congress a report that assesses the feasibility of
establishing a Federal office to--
(A) better advocate for EMS personnel, collect
data, promote EMS education, research, and training;
and
(B) implement recommendations and action plans
based on the findings in the reports under paragraphs
(1) and (2).
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) EMS organization.--The term ``EMS organization'' means
a nongovernmental or governmental entity that provides
emergency medical services.
(2) Emergency medical services.--The term ``emergency
medical services''--
(A) means resources used by a licensed entity to
deliver medical care outside of a medical facility
under emergency conditions that occur as a result of
the condition of the patient; and
(B) includes services provided (either on a
compensated or volunteer basis) at the location of the
emergency or en route to, or at, a health care facility
by an emergency medical services provider or other
provider that is licensed or certified by the State
involved as an emergency medical technician, a
paramedic, or an equivalent professional (as determined
by the State).
(3) Medical transport.--The term ``medical transport''
means the transportation, by ambulance, of sick, injured, or
otherwise incapacitated persons who require emergency medical
care to a health care facility, including a hospital, clinic,
or alternative destination.
(4) Qualified applicant.--The term ``qualified applicant''
means--
(A) an EMS organization; or
(B) a State (or a political subdivision thereof),
Indian Tribe, Tribal organization (as those terms are
defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)),
territory, or municipality.
(5) Rural area.--The term ``rural area'' means--
(A) a nonmetropolitan statistical area;
(B) an area designated as a rural area by any law
or regulation of a State; or
(C) a rural census tract of a metropolitan
statistical area (as determined under the most recent
rural urban commuting area code as set forth by the
Office of Management and Budget).
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means a State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and
Guam.
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