Sponsors (9)
The bill aims to increase timely organ referrals and transplants by mandating automated notifications and remote EHR access, while balancing that goal with exemptions and study requirements—but it raises costs for hospitals, security/privacy risks for patients, and the potential for geographic inequities.
Patients awaiting transplants and hospitals will see more timely organ referrals and increased transplant opportunities because hospitals must automatically notify organ procurement organizations and provide remote EHR access when death or imminent death is recorded.
Hospitals, especially small and rural facilities, get a clear exemption process (including a 3‑year hardship and automatic 1‑year cybersecurity/disaster exemptions), reducing the risk of penalties when they lack resources or face emergencies.
HHS guidance and a GAO study will improve implementation consistency, clarify best practices for families, and identify technical and rural broadband challenges before full rollout.
Hospitals — particularly small or rural ones — must pay for IT upgrades to implement automated EHR notifications and remote access within two years, which could strain budgets and divert resources from patient care.
Patients' medical privacy and data security are at greater risk because providing remote EHR access to external agencies increases the chance of misconfiguration or breaches exposing sensitive health information.
People in areas with limited broadband or facilities granted broad exemptions may face delayed compliance and uneven organ referral rates, creating geographic disparities in access to transplantation.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires hospitals to send automated electronic notifications and provide remote EHR access to designated organ procurement agencies when a patient's record shows death or imminent death.
Official title: To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require hospitals participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to establish certain notification procedures with respect to organ procurement agencies.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Beth Van Duyne · Last progress July 16, 2025
Requires hospitals to send automated electronic notifications and give electronic remote access to a hospital’s designated organ procurement agency (OPA) when a patient's record is updated to show death or imminent death. Gives the HHS Secretary authority to grant temporary hardship exemptions and to issue guidance; directs GAO to study implementation and requires HHS reporting to Congress. The requirement takes effect two years after enactment (with specified exemption authorities and reporting deadlines) and includes deadlines for HHS guidance and a GAO implementation report addressing costs, data security, rural broadband issues, and transplant outcomes.