HR2936-119

What This Bill Does

The ABC-ED Act addresses emergency department boarding and crowding through data infrastructure and Medicare payment-model experimentation. It amends Public Health Service Act data modernization grants so appropriate entities can build state- or region-wide, real-time or near real-time hospital capacity systems and public dashboards that track bed capacity, emergency department boarding, wait times, and EMS offload delays while respecting privacy laws. It also adds CMMI model authority for improved emergency care for older adults and people in acute psychiatric crisis, including staffing, education, physical infrastructure, geriatric protocols, quality metrics, and better transfers to post-acute or psychiatric facilities. GAO must study best practices for hospital-capacity tracking systems and report to Congress within one year.

Who Benefits and How

Emergency department patients benefit if real-time bed capacity data and CMMI models reduce boarding, wait times, and delayed transfers. Older adults in emergency departments benefit because CMMI must include research-based models for geriatric-focused emergency care. Patients in acute psychiatric crisis benefit because the bill directs models for dedicated emergency-department units and faster transfers. Emergency medical services personnel benefit if dashboards track and reduce time waiting to offload patients at emergency departments.

Who Bears the Burden and How

State public health data agencies must build or modernize hospital capacity systems and public dashboards. Hospitals must supply accurate bed-capacity data and integrate systems with electronic medical records where best practices call for it. The CMS Innovation Center must include the new emergency-care models in its model portfolio. GAO must study best practices, quality measures, EMS offload delays, wait times, and data-system effects within one year.

Key Provisions

• Expands public health data modernization grants to include real-time hospital bed capacity tracking and public dashboards.
• Creates CMMI model categories for emergency care for older adults and acute psychiatric crisis patients.
• Requires hospital capacity systems to address emergency departments, intensive care units, inpatient psychiatric services, skilled nursing facilities, and other services.
• Requires GAO to report best practices and effects on boarding rates, wait times, discharge delays, and EMS offload times.