# 116-hr-5821: HOSPICE Act

116-hr-5821, HOSPICE Act, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA); status Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 544. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5821
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-5821
- Congress: 116
- Title: HOSPICE Act
- Status: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 544.
- Introduced: 2020-02-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Helping Our Senior Population in Comfort Environments Act or the HOSPICE Act This bill establishes survey requirements for, and enforcement mechanisms against, certified hospice programs under Medicare. Specifically, certified programs must undergo periodic surveys by a state, local, or approved accreditation agency, as specified; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must provide appropriate training for surveyors and publish information relating to survey results on its website. The CMS must also (1) conduct more frequent surveys of programs that are found to be noncompliant with applicable standards; and (2) take specified enforcement actions against such programs, based on the severity of the deficiencies. Enforcement actions include civil penalties, suspended Medicare payments, and termination of program certification.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Reed, Tom [R-NY-23] (R-NY), 2020-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Higgins, Brian [D-NY-26] (D-NY), 2020-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kildee, Daniel T. [D-MI-8] (D-MI), 2020-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rice, Tom [R-SC-7] (R-SC), 2020-02-11T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 116-hr-3589: Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 116-hr-1865: Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020
- 116-hr-1773: Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019
- 116-hr-1570: Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2020
- 116-hr-1108: Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019
- 116-hr-550: Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019

## Sources
- [116-hr-5821 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5821)

## Related
- [116-hr-3589: Greg LeMond Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-3589)
- [116-hr-1865: Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1865)
- [116-hr-1773: Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1773)
- [116-hr-1570: Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1570)
- [116-hr-1108: Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1108)
- [116-hr-550: Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-550)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-5821 (as of 2025-11-18).