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To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require that hospitals report intensive care unit bed availability in real time as a condition of participation under the Medicare program.
Summary
This bill requires hospitals participating in Medicare to report intensive care unit bed availability in real time through a shared data system. Hospitals in the same geographic region must participate in this system and coordinate patient transfers to prevent any single hospital from becoming overcapacity. The requirements would take effect one year after the bill is enacted. The bill also extends federal funding for hospital preparedness activities through 2031, including resources to help hospitals plan for efficient patient transfers during public health emergencies.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
4 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Jay Obernolte’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $69,760
- GOOGLE $17,500
- ROUTE 66 SHOOTING $13,200
- APPLE VALLEY COMMUNICATIONS $13,200
- CHANDI GROUP USA $13,200
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Jay Obernolte → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Apr 14, 2026 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. · house
- Apr 14, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 14, 2026
Mr. Obernolte (for himself and Mrs. Dingell) 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 amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require that hospitals report intensive care unit bed availability in real time as a condition of participation under the Medicare program.
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 “Improving Care Utilization through Bed Exchange and Data Sharing Act of 2026” or the “ICU Bed Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING HOSPITALS TO REPORT BED AVAILABILITY IN REAL TIME AS A MEDICARE CONDITION OF PARTICIPATION.
(a) In General.—Section 1866 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395cc) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(1)—
(A) in subparagraph (X), by striking “and” at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (Y), by striking the period at the end and inserting “, and”; and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (Y) the following new subparagraph:
“(Z) beginning 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, in the case of a hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital, to comply with the real- time intensive care unit bed availability requirements described in subsection (l).”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(l) Real-Time Intensive Care Unit Bed Availability Reporting Requirements.—
“(1) In general.—For purposes of subsection (a)(1)(Z), the real-time intensive care unit bed availability requirements described in this subsection are, with respect to a hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital, that such hospital—
“(A) participate in a shared data reporting system that provides information in real time regarding the number of intensive care unit beds available at such hospital to each hospital, critical access hospital, and rural emergency hospital participating under this title that is located in the same region established by the Secretary under paragraph (2) as such hospital; and
“(B) maintain a shared strategy with each such hospital located in such region to efficiently transfer patients between such hospitals in the case that such a hospital reaches or nears intensive care unit bed capacity.
“(2) Regions.—The Secretary shall establish regions with respect to which a hospital, critical access hospital, or rural emergency hospital shall meet the requirements under paragraph
(1). In establishing such regions, the Secretary shall take into account—
“(A) the geography and population of a region; and
“(B) the time it takes to travel between such hospitals in a region.”.
(b) Partnership for State and Regional Hospital Preparedness.— Section 319C-2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-3b) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c), by inserting “, including for activities to prepare for the efficient transfer of patients between hospitals and other health care facilities to prevent overcapacity at such facilities during a public health emergency, and” before “with respect to”; and
(2) in subsection (j)(1), by inserting “and each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031” after “through 2023”. <all>
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