S. 4804 · 118th Congress
Health Over Wealth Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
MarkeySponsor8 cosponsors · 7 D, 1 I
8 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes a series of restrictions and requirements regarding for-profit corporations that own health care entities.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Jul 25, 2024
Health Over Wealth Act
This bill establishes a series of restrictions and requirements regarding for-profit corporations that own health care entities.
Specifically, the bill requires for-profit corporations that are controlled by private equity funds to obtain a license from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before purchasing or investing in a health care entity. Additionally, for-profit corporations that own or are affiliated with health care entities must report certain ownership and financial information to HHS, such as the corporation's debts, assets, and political spending. The bill establishes civil penalties for violations.
HHS must require for-profit corporations that are controlled by private equity funds to take certain actions to mitigate the risk of health care disruptions (e.g., escrow accounts to cover closures). In addition, as a condition of Medicare participation, hospitals must notify HHS about expected closures or discontinuations of services at least 90 days in advance.
The bill also prohibits transactions between for-profit corporations or their affiliated health care entities and real estate investment trusts (REITs) if the transaction would weaken the health care entity's financial status; HHS may collect civil penalties and bring civil actions for violations. The bill additionally excludes rent from health care entities from factoring into whether a corporation may be considered a REIT for tax purposes.
Finally, the bill prohibits investment companies from stripping assets from health care entities, and it requires bankruptcy courts to give substantial weight to how a bankruptcy plan involving health care entities would preserve health care quality and access.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Health Over Wealth Act
Latest action (Jul 25, 2024): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy area: Health · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Jul 25, 2024
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.