Health Care Accountability Mission Act of 2026

119th Congress Introduced by Chuck Edwards

Hospitals with prior findings of noncompliance face daily civil penalties up to $10,000 when ongoing violations immediately jeopardize patient health or safety, with public CMS pos

Introduced in House

Purpose and intent

Establishes a new civil monetary penalty regime for hospitals when a failure to comply with certain requirements immediately jeopardizes the health or safety of patients.

The bill is titled the Health Care Accountability Mission Act of 2026 and amends the Social Security Act to add penalties for specific, ongoing dangerous noncompliance by hospitals.

Key provisions and changes

Addition to law: Section 1866(b) of the Social Security Act is amended to include a new paragraph (5) that creates a civil monetary penalty mechanism.

Trigger for penalty:

Applies when the Secretary determines, under existing criteria in paragraph (2) (which concerns noncompliance with hospital requirements and related determinations), that a hospital’s failure immediately jeopardizes patient health or safety.
The penalty is available only if the Secretary has previously made a similar determination and finding about that hospital within the 2-year period ending on the current determination date.

Penalty amount:

A civil monetary penalty not to exceed $10,000 per day for the duration of the ongoing failure.

Publication and transparency:

The Secretary must publish on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) public website each determination under this new subparagraph.

Penalty administration:

The penalty process follows the same procedural framework as penalties under 1128A (with all relevant subsections except 1128A(a) and (b) being applied), meaning standard hearing and enforcement provisions apply.

Scope of entities covered:

“Specified hospital” includes hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals with a Medicare agreement, excluding nonprofit entities within those categories.

Who and what is affected

Hospitals that have Medicare agreements (including hospitals, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals) that have previously been found noncompliant and whose ongoing noncompliance immediately jeopardizes patient health or safety.

CMS/Secretary oversight and enforcement staff, who would determine eligibility for the penalty and publish determinations.

Public stakeholders, who would have access to the list of determinations via CMS’s public website.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Trigger condition requires a prior finding within the preceding 2 years; the same hospital must have had a previous qualified determination for the penalty to apply.

Penalty accrues on a daily basis for as long as the unsafe condition persists, up to the statutory cap of $10,000 per day.

Penalty determinations and related information must be made publicly available on CMS’s website.

Penalty procedure mirrors that of other civil penalties under Section 1128A, ensuring standard due process protections where applicable (subject to the specified deviations noted in the bill).

Observations and potential implications

The act introduces a heightened, publicly visible financial consequence for hospitals with ongoing, immediately jeopardizing patient safety issues.

By tying penalties to a two-year prior finding, the bill emphasizes repeated noncompliance as a prerequisite for penalties.

The public posting requirement could influence reputational considerations and motivate corrective actions beyond the statutory penalties.

The reliance on daily penalties provides a strong financial incentive to remediate promptly, potentially accelerating compliance efforts.

Note: This summary reflects the bill text as introduced and does not account for any amendments or changes that may occur through the legislative process.