§300t–12 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

§300t–12 Grants for discontinuance and conversion

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XIV— - HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT › Part Part E— - Program To Assist and Encourage Voluntary Discontinuance of Unneeded Hospital Services and Conversion of Unneeded Hospital Services to Other Health Services Needed by Community › § 300t–12

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Pays money to hospitals that are closing or changing services, but only under rules the Secretary sets to make sure the money is used correctly. The Secretary decides how much to give. A hospital can use the grant to pay off debt on the closed part, to plan and build new services when part of the hospital is converted, to pay reasonable termination pay and retraining and help staff find new jobs and protect benefits, and for other costs the Secretary allows. Hospitals must apply and get the Secretary’s approval. The application must say which services or parts will stop or change, explain how local health care will be affected, estimate cost changes, and promise contractor workers will get the local prevailing wage, plus any other information the Secretary asks for. Local health planning agencies and the State Agency review need and make recommendations. The Secretary will not approve an application if the State Agency objects or if inpatient costs would not be lower after the change. The Secretary of Labor must certify that fair plans are in place to protect employees, must make guidelines (after consulting HHS), and must finish its review within 90 days or 120 days when rules allow. Records and audits rules apply. For this program, a “hospital” must meet basic hospital rules, charge or accept payment, and have had an average patient stay of 30 days or less in the prior year.

Title 42, §300t–12

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)A grant to a hospital under the program shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe to assure that the grant is used for the purpose for which it was made.

(2)The amount of any such grant shall be determined by the Secretary. The recipient of such a grant may use the grant—

(A)in the case of a grantee which discontinues the provision of all hospital services or all inpatient hospital services or an identifiable part of a hospital facility which provides inpatient hospital services, for the liquidation of the outstanding debt on the facilities of the grantee used for the provision of the services or for the liquidation of the outstanding debt of the grantee on such identifiable part;

(B)in the case of a grantee which in discontinuing the provision of an inpatient hospital service converts or proposes to convert an identifiable part of a hospital facility used in the provision of the discontinued service to the delivery of other health services, for the planning, development (including construction and acquisition of equipment), and delivery of the health service;

(C)to provide reasonable termination pay for personnel of the grantee who will lose employment because of the discontinuance of hospital services made by the grantee, retraining of such personnel, assisting such personnel in securing employment, and other costs of implementing arrangements described in subsection (c); and

(D)for such other costs which the Secretary determines may need to be incurred by the grantee in discontinuing hospital services.

(b)(1)No grant may be made to a hospital unless an application therefor is submitted to and approved by the Secretary. Such an application shall be in such form and submitted in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe and shall include—

(A)a description of each service to be discontinued and, if a part of a hospital is to be discontinued or converted to another use in connection with such discontinuance, a description of such part;

(B)an evaluation of the impact of such discontinuance and conversion on the provision of health care in the health service area in which such service is provided;

(C)an estimate of the change in the applicant’s costs which will result from such discontinuance and conversion; and

(D)reasonable assurance that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the performance of work on a project will be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar construction in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with section 3141–3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, and the Secretary of Labor shall have with respect to such labor standards the authority and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (15 FR 3176; 5 U.S.C. Appendix) and section 3145 of title 40;

(E)such other information as the Secretary may require.

(2)(A)The health systems agency for the health service area in which is located a hospital applying for a grant under the program shall (i) in making the review of the applicant’s application under section 300l–2(e) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title, determine the need for each service or part proposed to be discontinued by the applicant, (ii) in the case of an application for the conversion of a facility, determine the need for each service which will be provided as a result of the conversion, and (iii) make a recommendation to the State Agency for the State in which the applicant is located respecting approval by the Secretary of the applicant’s application.

(B)A State Agency which has received a recommendation from a health systems agency under subparagraph (A) respecting an application shall, after consideration of such recommendation, make a recommendation to the Secretary respecting the approval by the Secretary of the application. A State Agency’s recommendation under this subparagraph respecting the approval of an application (i) shall be based upon (I) the need for each service or part proposed to be discontinued by the applicant, (II) in the case of an application for the conversion of a facility, the need for each service which will be provided as a result of the conversion, and (III) such other criteria as the Secretary may prescribe, and (ii) shall be accompanied by the health systems agency’s recommendation made with respect to the approval of the application.

(C)In determining, under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the need for the service (or services) or part proposed to be discontinued or converted by an applicant for a grant, a health systems agency and State Agency shall give special consideration to the unmet needs and existing access patterns of urban or rural poverty populations.

(3)(A)The Secretary may not approve an application of a hospital for a grant—

(i)if a State Agency recommended that the application not be approved, or

(ii)if the Secretary is unable to determine that the cost of providing inpatient health services in the health service area in which the applicant is located will be less than if the inpatient health services proposed to be discontinued were not discontinued.

(B)In considering applications of hospitals for grants the Secretary shall consider the recommendations of health systems agencies and State Agencies and shall give special consideration to applications (i) which will assist health systems agencies and State Agencies to meet the goals in their health systems plans and State health plans, or (ii) which will result in the greatest reduction in hospital costs within a health service area.

(c)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Secretary may not approve an application submitted under subsection (b) unless the Secretary of Labor has certified that fair and equitable arrangements have been made to protect the interests of employees affected by the discontinuance of services against a worsening of their positions with respect to their employment, including arrangements to preserve the rights of employees under collective-bargaining agreements, continuation of collective-bargaining rights consistent with the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act [29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.], reassignment of affected employees to other jobs, retraining programs, protecting pension, health benefits, and other fringe benefits of affected employees, and arranging adequate severance pay, if necessary.

(2)The Secretary of Labor shall by regulation prescribe guidelines for arrangements for the protection of the interests of employees affected by the discontinuance of hospital services. The Secretary of Labor shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the promulgation of such guidelines. Such guidelines shall first be promulgated not later than the promulgation of regulations by the Secretary for the administration of the grants authorized by section 300t–11 of this title.

(3)The Secretary of Labor shall review each application submitted under subsection (b) to determine if the arrangements described in paragraph (1) have been made and if they are satisfactory and shall notify the Secretary respecting his determination. Such review shall be completed within—

(A)ninety days from the date of the receipt of the application from the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or

(B)one hundred and twenty days from such date if the Secretary of Labor has by regulation prescribed the circumstances under which the review will require at least one hundred and twenty days.

(d)The records and audits requirements of section 292e 1 of this title shall apply with respect to grants made under subsection (a).

(e)For purposes of this part, the term “hospital” means, with respect to any fiscal year, an institution (including a distinct part of an institution participating in the programs established under title XVIII of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.])—

(1)which satisfies paragraphs (1) and (7) of section 1861(e) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)],

(2)imposes charges or accepts payments for services provided to patients, and

(3)the average duration of a patient’s stay in which was thirty days or less in the preceding fiscal year,

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 300l–2 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A), was repealed effective Jan. 1, 1987, by Pub. L. 99–660, title VII, § 701(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat. 3799. The National Labor Relations Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is act

July 5, 1935, ch. 372, 49 Stat. 452, which is classified generally to subchapter II (§ 151 et seq.) of chapter 7 of Title 29, Labor. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 167 of Title 29 and Tables. section 292e of this title, referred to in subsec. (d), was in the original a reference to section 705 of act

July 1, 1944. section 705 of that Act was omitted in the general revision of subchapter V of this chapter by Pub. L. 102–408, title I, § 102, Oct. 13, 1992, 106 Stat. 1994. Pub. L. 102–408 enacted a new section 705 of act

July 1, 1944, relating to eligibility of borrowers and terms of insured loans, and a new section 706, relating to certificates of loan insurance, which are classified to section 292d and 292e, respectively, of this title. The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (e), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Title XVIII of the Social Security Act is classified generally to subchapter XVIII (§ 1395 et seq.) of chapter 7 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of this title and Tables. Codification In subsec. (b)(1)(D), “section 3141–3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40” substituted for “the Act of

March 3, 1931 (40 U.S.C. 276a—276a–5, known as the Davis-Bacon Act)” and “section 3145 of title 40” substituted for “section 2 of the Act of

June 13, 1934 (40 U.S.C. 276c)” on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, the first section of which enacted Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

“Secretary of Health and Human Services” substituted for “Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare” in subsecs. (a), (b), and (c) pursuant to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96–88, which is classified to section 3508(b) of Title 20, Education.