119-hr3017

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3017 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3017

 To direct the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the 
 Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an annual study on 
 health care competition and consolidation at the State level.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 24, 2025

 Mrs. Spartz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the 
 Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an annual study on 
 health care competition and consolidation at the State level.

 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 ``Measuring State Healthcare Freedom 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL STUDY ON HEALTH CARE COMPETITION AND CONSOLIDATION AT 
 STATE LEVEL.

    (a) In General.--Over each of the 10 years following the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and 
Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services (in this 
section referred to as the ``Assistant Secretary'') shall conduct a 
study on health care competition and consolidation at the State level.

    (b) Consultation.--In conducting the study under this section, the 
Assistant Secretary shall consult with the Chair of the Federal Trade 
Commission and the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the 
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.
            (c) Obtaining Data.--The Assistant Secretary may secure from the 
Federal Trade Commission information necessary to enable the Assistant 
Secretary to carry out subsection
            (d) (2) . Upon request of the Assistant 
Secretary, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission shall furnish that 
information to the Assistant Secretary.
            (d) Metrics.--The study under this section shall include data 
collection on each of the following:

    (1) Licensing requirements for doctors, nurses, and other 
 health care practitioners, including requirements with respect 
 to--
        (A) initial licensure;
        (B) ongoing maintenance of licensure;
            (C) specific training and postgraduate and 
 continuing medical education;
            (D) residency supervisory requirements; and
        (E) board certification.

    (2) Mergers and acquisitions (both vertical and 
 horizontal), involving--
        (A) hospitals;
        (B) ambulatory or outpatient practices;
            (C) ambulatory surgical centers;
            (D) health insurance providers;
        (E) habilitative service providers (such as 
 providers of physical therapy or occupational therapy); 
 and
        (F) telehealth.

    (3) The number of--
        (A) State laws establishing a legal mechanism by 
 which a State approves mergers between or among two or 
 more hospitals (commonly referred to as ``certificates 
 of public advantage''); and
        (B) State laws establishing a legal mechanism for 
 regulating the growth of construction of new health 
 care facilities (commonly referred to as ``certificates 
 of need'').

    (4) The availability of alternative forms of health 
 insurance coverage, including--
        (A) short-term limited duration insurance (as 
 defined for purposes of 

section 2791

    (b)

    (5) of the 
 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91

    (b)

    (5) )); 
 and
        (B) association health plans (including plans 
 offered through the American Farm Bureau Federation).

    (5) The number of each of the following in operation at the 
 start and the end of each year covered by the 10-year study 
 period:
        (A) Hospitals.
        (B) Medical practices.
            (C) Ambulatory or outpatient practices.
            (D) Ambulatory surgical centers.
        (E) Health insurance providers.
        (F) Habilitative service providers.

    (6) The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, within geographic areas 
 defined by the Assistant Secretary in consultation with the 
 Bureau of Competition of the Federal Trade Commission, for the 
 following health care services:
        (A) General acute care hospital services.
        (B) Ambulatory or outpatient medical services, 
 disaggregated by medical specialty.
            (C) Habilitative services.

    (e) Annual Reports.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than the end of each of the 10 
 years referred to in subsection

    (a) , the Assistant Secretary 
 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the 
 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and 
 the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Health, 
 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report on the 
 status and results of the study under this section.

    (2) Publication; publicly accessible datasets.--Not later 
 than the end of each of the 10 years referred to in subsection

    (a) , the Assistant Secretary shall--
        (A) publish on the website of the Office of the 
 Assistant Secretary the report submitted under 
 paragraph

    (1) for the respective year; and
        (B) make the data collected through the study under 
 this section available to the public on such website in 
 a manner that is publicly accessible and interactive.
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