119-s2989

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2989 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2989

To prohibit certain sales or leases of real property for a health care 
 entity if the terms of such a sale or lease would lead to long-term 
weakened financial status of the health care entity or place the public 
 health at risk, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 October 8, 2025

 Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Sanders) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
 on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To prohibit certain sales or leases of real property for a health care 
 entity if the terms of such a sale or lease would lead to long-term 
weakened financial status of the health care entity or place the public 
 health at risk, 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 ``Stop Medical Profiteering and Theft 
Act'' or the ``Stop MPT Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON THE USE OF REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS IN 
 HEALTH CARE.

    (a) In General.--

    (1) Prohibition.--No health care entity or covered firm may 
 enter into agreement to sell to, or lease from, a real estate 
 investment trust (as defined in 

section 856 of the Internal 
 Revenue Code of 1986) an interest in real property if the terms 
 of such sale or lease would lead to long-term weakened 
 financial status of the health care entity or place the public 
 health at risk.

    (2) Review of sale or lease terms.--
        (A) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
 Services (referred to in this section as the 
 ``Secretary'') shall require each health care entity, 
 or the covered firm that owns such health care entity, 
 seeking to enter into an agreement described in 
 paragraph

    (1) to submit to the Secretary for review the 
 terms of the sale or lease, as applicable.
        (B) Standard.--In conducting a review of a sale or 
 lease under subparagraph
        (A) , the Secretary shall 
 determine whether the terms of such sale or lease would 
 lead to long-term weakened financial status of the 
 health care entity or place the public health at risk.
            (C) Consultation.--The Secretary may consult with 
 the relevant State attorney general in conducting a 
 review under subparagraph
        (A) .

    (3) Litigation authority.--Except as provided in 

section 518 of title 28, United States Code (relating to litigation 
 before the Supreme Court), attorneys designated by the 
 Secretary may appear for the Department of Health and Human 
 Services and represent the Department in any civil action 
 brought in connection with a violation of paragraph

    (1) .

    (b) Enforcement.--

    (1) State enforcement.--
        (A) State authority.--Each State may require a 
 person subject to the requirements of this section to 
 satisfy such requirements applicable to the person.
        (B) Failure to implement requirements.--In the case 
 of a State that fails to substantially enforce the 
 requirements of this section with respect to applicable 
 persons in the State, the Secretary shall enforce the 
 requirements of this section under paragraph

    (2) to the 
 extent that such requirements relate to actions 
 prohibited under this section occurring in such State.

    (2) Secretarial enforcement authority.--If a person is 
 found by the Secretary to be in violation of this section, the 
 Secretary may apply a civil monetary penalty with respect to 
 such person in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per violation.

    (3) Continued applicability of state law.--This section 
 shall not be construed to supersede any provision of State law 
 that establishes, implements, or continues in effect any 
 requirement or prohibition except to the extent that such 
 requirement or prohibition prevents the application of a 
 requirement or prohibition of this section.
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Affiliate.--The term ``affiliate'' means--
        (A) a person that directly or indirectly owns, 
 controls, or holds with power to vote, 20 percent or 
 more of the outstanding voting securities of another 
 entity, other than a person that holds such 
 securities--
            (i) in a fiduciary or agency capacity 
 without sole discretionary power to vote such 
 securities; or
            (ii) solely to secure a debt, if such 
 entity has not in fact exercised such power to 
 vote;
        (B) a corporation 20 percent or more of whose 
 outstanding voting securities are directly or 
 indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to 
 vote, by another entity (referred to in this 
 subparagraph as a ``covered entity''), or by an entity 
 that directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds 
 with power to vote, 20 percent or more of the 
 outstanding voting securities of the covered entity, 
 other than an entity that holds such securities--
            (i) in a fiduciary or agency capacity 
 without sole discretionary power to vote such 
 securities; or
            (ii) solely to secure a debt, if such 
 entity has not in fact exercised such power to 
 vote;
            (C) a person whose business is operated under a 
 lease or operating agreement by another entity, or 
 person substantially all of whose property is operated 
 under an operating agreement with that other entity; or
            (D) an entity that operates the business or 
 substantially all of the property of another entity 
 under a lease or operating agreement.

    (2) Corporation.--The term ``corporation'' means--
        (A) a joint-stock company;
        (B) a company or partnership association organized 
 under a law that makes only the capital subscribed or 
 callable up to a specified amount responsible for the 
 debts of the association, including a limited 
 partnership and a limited liability company;
            (C) a trust; or
            (D) an association having a power or privilege that 
 a private corporation, but not an individual or a 
 partnership, possesses.

    (3) Covered firm.--The term ``covered firm'' means a for-
 profit corporation that owns or is an affiliate of a health 
 care entity.

    (4) Health care entity.--The term ``health care entity'' 
 means an entity that consists of 1 or more of the following 
 health care providers:
        (A) A hospital.
        (B) A physician practice.
            (C) A skilled nursing facility.
            (D) A hospice facility.
        (E) A mental or behavioral health care provider.
        (F) An opioid treatment program.
        (G) A provider of services (as defined in 

section 1861

    (u) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x

    (u) ) 
 or a supplier (as defined in 

section 1861
            (d) of such 
 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395
            (d) ))) enrolled in the Medicare 
 program.
        (H) Any other entity the Secretary determines 
 appropriate.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF RENTS FROM QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROPERTY.

    (a) In General.--

Section 856
            (d) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
        (B) , by 
striking the period and inserting ``, and'' at the end of subparagraph
            (C) , and by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
 ``
            (D) notwithstanding paragraphs

    (4) ,

    (6) , and

    (8) , 
 any amount received or accrued directly or indirectly 
 from qualified health care property (as defined in 
 subsection

    (e)

    (6)
            (D) 
            (i) ).''.

    (b) Conforming Amendments.--

    (1) Section 856
            (d) (8)
        (B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
 1986 is amended--
        (A) by striking ``or a qualified health care 
 property (as defined in subsection

    (e)

    (6)
            (D) 
            (i) )'', and
        (B) by striking ``qualified health care property 
 or''.

    (2) Section 856
            (d) (9) of such Code is amended--
        (A) by striking ``or a qualified health care 
 property (as defined in subsection

    (e)

    (6)
            (D) 
            (i) )'' in 
 subparagraph
        (A) ,
        (B) by striking ``or qualified health care 
 property'' each place it appears in subparagraph
        (A) and
        (B) , and
            (C) by striking ``or qualified health care 
 properties'' in subparagraph
        (A) .
            (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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