Reports

(a) Standards on safe working hours for nurses (1) Study The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, shall conduct a study to establish appropriate standards for the maximum number of hours that a nurse who furnishes health care to patients may work without compromising the safety of such patients. Such standards may vary by provider of service and by department within a provider of services, by duties or functions carried out by nurses, by shift, and by other factors that the Director determines appropriate. The Director may contract with an eligible entity or organization to carry out the study under this paragraph. (2) Report Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1) and shall include recommendations for such appropriate standards of maximum work hours. (b) Report on mandatory overtime in Federally operated medical facilities (1) Study (A) In general The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall conduct a study to determine the extent to which federally operated medical facilities have in effect practices and policies with respect to overtime requirements for nurses that are inconsistent with the provisions of section 1866(l) of the Social Security Act, as added by section 3. (B) Federally operated medical facilities defined In this subsection, the term federally operated medical facilities means acute care hospitals, freestanding clinics, and home health care clinics that are operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, or any other department or agency of the United States. (2) Report Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1) and shall include recommendations for the implementation of policies within federally operated medical facilities with respect to overtime requirements for nurses that are consistent with such section 1866(l), as so added.