Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Don Beyer (D-VA)
Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) and Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, today introduced the bipartisan Protecting Hospitals from Disaster Act to help hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities prepare for extreme weather and natural disasters without compromising patient care and routine services. The bill would expand the role of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) to provide direct support to health care providers as they prepare for and respond to disasters, including mitigating physical risks to facilities and reducing chronic health risks to patients.
“While health care facilities and the professionals who staff them regularly demonstrate remarkable resilience amid increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters, many face impossible choices between preparing and responding to severe weather and keeping up day-to-day operations,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “Thankfully, Congress has already established pathways through QIOs to help providers avoid choosing between delivering today’s care and improving tomorrow’s. Our Protecting Hospitals from Disaster Act would explicitly task QIOs with helping providers prepare for and respond to disasters, while giving them the resources they need to deliver high-quality care even in the most extreme circumstances.”
“After devastating hurricanes like Milton and Helene, Florida hospitals have shown extraordinary resilience, but when facilities are forced to close or evacuate, lives are put at risk,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan. “Our health care system must be prepared, providers should never have to choose between storm readiness and caring for patients. As Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, I’m committed to strengthening the Medicare program through Quality Improvement Organizations that support providers before, during and after disasters. I’m proud to introduce the Protecting Hospitals from Disaster Act with Congressman Don Beyer to help hospitals stay operational, protect vulnerable patients and ensure continuity of care when it matters most.”
As extreme weather events have become more frequent, deadlier, and more costly, health care providers have not been immune from damaging effects. Between 2000 and 2017, there were 114 natural disaster-related hospital evacuations in the United States, more than half of which required the evacuation of over 100 patients.
Most Medicare providers, like hospitals, dialysis facilities, and clinics, don’t have the resources and technical knowledge to address the dual challenges of responding to severe weather while maintaining day-to-day operations. In such cases, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) could play a pivotal role in providing the support necessary to respond to extreme weather threats and implement critical mitigation strategies. QIOs are private, mostly non-profit organizations that are required by law to contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide technical assistance and implement care quality improvements in specific geographic and clinical areas. These organizations are widely trusted partners within the medical community with a localized, on-the-ground perspective and a deep understanding of Medicare programs and their rules.
The Protecting Hospitals from Disaster Act would dedicate funding for QIOs’ emergency preparedness work, enabling QIOs to work with lower-resourced providers to close gaps in preparedness and performance, improve the quality of Medicare services, and help ensure continuity of health services during disasters.
Text of the Protecting Hospitals from Disaster Act is available here.