H.R. 598 117th Congress House

Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID–19 and Beyond Act

Official title: To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to improve the quality of care in skilled nursing facilities under the Medicare program and nursing fa… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to improve the quality of care in skilled nursing facilities under the Medicare program and nursing facilities under the Medicare program during the COVID-19 emergency period, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 28, 2021 Introduced by: Janice D. Schakowsky Democratic · Illinois See on congress.gov

Health Administrative remediesAdult education and literacyAlternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitrationCardiovascular and respiratory health

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Civil actions and liabilityCongressional oversightDepartment of Health and Human ServicesDrug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulationEmergency medical services and trauma careEmployee hiringEmployment and training programsEmployment discrimination and employee rightsExecutive agency funding and structureForeign language and bilingual programsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsHealth care costs and insuranceHealth care qualityHealth facilities and institutionsHealth information and medical recordsHealth personnelHealth programs administration and fundingHealth promotion and preventive careHome and outpatient careInfectious and parasitic diseasesJudicial review and appealsLabor-management relationsLong-term, rehabilitative, and terminal careMedicaidMedicareNeurological disordersNursingPrescription drugsState and local government operationsWorker safety and health

Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Feb 2, 2021

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Jan 28, 2021

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Jan 28, 2021

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Jan 28, 2021

Introduced in House

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Latest action February 2, 2021

Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID-19 and Beyond Act

This bill modifies several requirements for Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and Medicaid nursing facilities (NFs) to address the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) and the overall standard and administration of care in such facilities.

Specifically, during the public health emergency, SNFs and NFs must comply with specified quality of care, worker safety, and transparency requirements, subject to civil penalties. Requirements include (1) testing residents and employees for COVID-19 weekly or before shifts, respectively, and reporting any lack of available testing kits on a daily basis; (2) providing at least two weeks of paid sick leave to each employee; and (3) reporting the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, including demographic information, on a daily basis.

The bill also establishes general requirements for SNFs and NFs with respect to minimum staffing levels and protections for whistleblowers and residents, subject to civil penalties, as well as training requirements for nurses. It also requires specific consent procedures in relation to the administration of certain psychotropic drugs and prohibits the use of pre-dispute arbitration agreements in such facilities.

Related & companion bills 3

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 4

Energy and Commerce Committee
House of Representatives
Health Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Ways and Means Committee
Health Subcommittee
House of Representatives · subcommittee of Energy and Commerce Committee
Ways and Means Committee
House of Representatives

Lobbying activity 3

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
for DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
for DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
for DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2025 (July 1 - Sep 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

Cosponsors 23

Carson, André

Indiana · Apr 28, 2022

ROYBAL-ALLARD, LUCILLE

· Feb 1, 2022

Waters, Maxine

California · Nov 18, 2021

Davis, Danny K.

Illinois · Aug 23, 2021

Scanlon, Mary Gay

Pennsylvania · Aug 23, 2021

Mississippi · Jun 8, 2021

DeSaulnier, Mark

California · May 28, 2021

García, Jesús G. "Chuy"

Illinois · May 28, 2021

Chu, Judy

California · Apr 26, 2021

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

District of Columbia · Apr 26, 2021

Deutch, Theodore

· Apr 15, 2021

Pocan, Mark

Wisconsin · Apr 8, 2021

Pressley, Ayanna

Massachusetts · Apr 8, 2021

Raskin, Jamie

Maryland · Apr 8, 2021

Matsui, Doris O.

California · Mar 26, 2021

Sires, Albio

· Mar 26, 2021

Velázquez, Nydia M.

New York · Mar 26, 2021

Hayes, Jahana

Connecticut · Feb 22, 2021

Tlaib, Rashida

Michigan · Feb 22, 2021

Takano, Mark

California · Jan 28, 2021

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 598: Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID–19 and Beyond Act. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-598/

MLA

"H.R. 598: Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID–19 and Beyond Act." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-598/.

Bluebook (legal)

H.R. 598, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-598/.

Markdown link

[H.R. 598: Quality Care for Nursing Home Residents and Workers During COVID–19 and Beyond Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-HR-598/)