ABC-ED Act of 2025

S 1974 (the ABC-ED Act of 2025) requires hospitals to track real-time emergency department bed capacity and boarding rates using modernized public health data systems, with grant funding to support this. It also creates a Medicare pilot program testing improved emergency care for older adults (through staffing, infrastructure, and geriatric protocols) and for psychiatric crisis patients (via dedicated units and faster transfers to post-acute facilities). The bill mandates a study by the Comptroller General to evaluate best practices for these data systems and their impact on emergency department wait times, boarding rates, and EMS offload times. The study must be completed within one year of enactment and reported to Congress. This bill directly affects hospitals, emergency departments, and post-acute care facilities (like skilled nursing homes) through new data requirements and pilot program participation.