(a) Purpose

The purpose of this section is to assist the provision of urgently needed hospitals for the care and treatment of persons who are acutely ill or who otherwise require medical care and related services of the kind customarily furnished only (or most effectively) by hospitals. Such assistance shall be provided regardless of the amount of public financial or other support a hospital may receive, and the Secretary shall neither require additional security or collateral to guarantee such support, nor impose more stringent eligibility or other requirements on publicly owned or supported hospitals.

(b) Definitions

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For the purposes of this section—

(1) the term “hospital” means a facility—

(A) which provides community service for inpatient medical care of the sick or injured (including obstetrical care);

(B) not more than 50 per centum of the total patient days of which during any year are customarily assignable to the categories of chronic convalescent and rest, drug and alcoholic, epileptic, mentally deficient, mental, nervous and mental, and tuberculosis, unless the facility is a critical access hospital (as that term is defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm)(1))); and

(C) which is a public facility, proprietary facility, or facility of a private nonprofit corporation or association, licensed or regulated by the State (or, if there is no State law providing for such licensing or regulation by the State, by the municipality or other political subdivision in which the facility is located); and

(2) the terms “mortgage” and “mortgagor” shall have the meanings respectfully set forth in section 1713(a) of this title.

(c) Authorization to insure; prohibition of premiums on guarantees of principal and interest under title VII of the Public Health Service Act

The Secretary is authorized to insure any mortgage (including advances on such mortgage during construction) in accordance with the provisions of this section upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe and to make commitments for insurance of such mortgage prior to the date of its execution or disbursement thereon. No mortgage insurance premium shall be charged with respect to the amount of principal and interest guaranteed by the Department of Health and Human Services under title VII of the Public Health Service Act [42 U.S.C. 292 et seq.].

(d) Insurance of mortgages covering new or rehabilitated hospitals, including equipment; terms and conditions

In order to carry out the purpose of this section, the Secretary is authorized to insure any mortgage which covers a new or rehabilitated hospital, including equipment to be used in its operation, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The mortgage shall be executed by a mortgagor approved by the Secretary. The Secretary may in his discretion require any such mortgagor to be regulated or restricted as to charges and methods of financing, and, in addition thereto, if the mortgagor is a corporate entity, as to capital structure and rate of return. As an aid to the regulation or restriction of any mortgagor with respect to any of the foregoing matters, the Secretary may make such contracts with and acquire for not to exceed $100 such stock or interest in such mortgagor as he may deem necessary. Any stock or interest so purchased shall be paid for out of the General Insurance Fund, and shall be redeemed by the mortgagor at par upon the termination of all obligations of the Secretary under the insurance.

(2) The mortgage shall involve a principal obligation in the amount requested by the mortgagor if such amount does not exceed 90 percent of the estimated replacement cost of the property or project including—

(A) equipment to be used in the operation of the hospital, when the proposed improvements are completed and the equipment is installed; and

(B) a solar energy system (as defined in subparagraph (3) of the last paragraph of section 1703(a) of this title) or residential energy conservation measures (as defined in section 8211(11)(A) through (G) and (I) of title 42) ¹ in cases where the Secretary determines that such measures are in addition to those required under the minimum property standards and will be cost-effective over the life of the measure.

(3) The mortgage shall—

(A) provide for complete amortization by periodic payments within such term as the Secretary shall prescribe; and

(B) bear interest at such rate as may be agreed upon by the mortgagor and the mortgagee.

(4)(A) The Secretary shall require satisfactory evidence that the hospital will be located in a State or political subdivision of a State with reasonable minimum standards of licensure and methods of operation for hospitals and satisfactory assurance that such standards will be applied and enforced with respect to the hospital.

(B) The Secretary shall establish the means for determining need and feasibility for the hospital, if the State does not have an official procedure for determining need for hospitals. If the State has an official procedure for determining need for hospitals, the Secretary shall require that such procedure be followed before the application for insurance is submitted, and the application shall document that need has also been established under that procedure.

(5) The Secretary shall not insure any mortgage or approve any modification of an existing mortgage insured pursuant to this section or section 1715n(f) of this title if such insurance or modification is to be made in connection with a guarantee, as authorized pursuant to section 1721 of this title, of a trust certificate or other security which is exempt from Federal taxation or which is to be used to collateralize obligations which are so exempt, except that the Secretary shall not refuse to insure such a mortgage or approve such a modification solely on the basis that such insurance or modification is to be made in connection with a guarantee, as authorized pursuant to section 1721 of this title, of a trust certificate or other security which is exempt from Federal taxation or which is to be used to collateralize obligations which are so exempt if—

(A) a written application for such insurance or modification submitted at the express direction of the hospital has been submitted to the appropriate office of the Department of Health and Human Services prior to March 29, 1979; or

(B) in the case of a nonprofit mortgagor which is seeking refinancing or modification of an existing mortgage insured pursuant to this section or section 1715n(f) of this title, the mortgagor (i) had engaged an investment banker for the purpose of obtaining such refinancing or modification, or had undertaken or arranged for the undertaking of a market or feasibility study with respect to the advisability of obtaining such refinancing or modification, and had made written notification of its interest in such refinancing or modification to the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Housing and Urban Development prior to June 7, 1979; and (ii) receives from the programs established under titles XVIII [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.] and XIX [42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.] of the Social Security Act a percentage of its total revenue which is greater than 125 per centum of the national average for hospitals which derive revenue from such titles.

This paragraph shall not limit the authority of the Secretary to approve a mortgage increase on any mortgage eligible for insurance under this paragraph at any time prior to final endorsement of the loan for insurance; except that such mortgage increase may not be approved for the cost of constructing any improvements not included in the original plans and specifications approved by the Department of Health and Human Services unless approved by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(6) To the extent that a private nonprofit or public facility mortgagor is required by the Secretary to provide cash equity in excess of the amount of the mortgage to complete the project, the mortgagor shall be entitled, at the option of the mortgagee, to fund the excess with a letter of credit. In such event, mortgage proceeds may be advanced to the mortgagor prior to any demand being made on the letter of credit.

(e) Release of part of property or project from lien

The Secretary may consent to the release of a part or parts of the mortgaged property or project from the lien of any mortgage insured under this section upon such terms and conditions as he may prescribe.

(f) Encouragement of programs undertaking responsibility to provide comprehensive health care; immediate processing of applications for public hospitals

The activities and functions provided for in this section shall be carried out by the agencies involved so as to encourage programs that undertake responsibility to provide comprehensive health care, including outpatient and preventive care, as well as hospitalization, to a defined population, and, in the case of public hospitals, to encourage programs that are undertaken to provide essential health care services to all residents of a community regardless of ability to pay. The Secretary shall begin immediately to process applications of public facilities for mortgage insurance under this section in accordance with regulations, guidelines, and procedures applicable to facilities of private nonprofit corporations and associations.

(g) Insurance of mortgages providing permanent financing or refinancing of existing mortgage indebtedness; aggregate principal balance of mortgages

(1) Notwithstanding any of the other provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary may insure under this section a mortgage which provides permanent financing or refinancing of existing mortgage indebtedness in the case of a hospital whose permanent financing is presently lacking, if the construction of such hospital was completed between January 1, 1966, and August 1, 1968.

(2) The aggregate principal balance of all mortgages insured under paragraph (1) and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed $20,000,000.

(h) Applicability of other laws

The provisions of subsections (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), and (n) of section 1713 of this title shall apply to mortgages insured under this section and all references therein to section 1713 of this title shall be deemed to refer to this section.

(i) Termination of exemption for critical access hospitals

(1) In general

The exemption for critical access hospitals under subsection (b)(1)(B) shall have no effect after July 31, 2016.

(2) Report to Congress

Not later than 3 years after July 31, 2003, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress detailing the effects of the exemption of critical access hospitals from the provisions of subsection (b)(1)(B) on—

(A) the provision of mortgage insurance to hospitals under this section; and

(B) the General Insurance Fund established under section 1735c of this title.