42 U.S.C. § 300hh–2 — Enhancing medical surge capacity

(a) Study of enhancing medical surge capacity. As part of the joint review required under section 300hh–11(b), the Secretary must study whether it would help, and whether it is realistic, for HHS to give local communities extra medical surge capacity during a public health emergency. This study must look at: (1) buying and running mobile medical units the Secretary could send to a community during an emergency; (2) building telemedicine into the National Disaster Medical System; and (3) other strategies the Secretary thinks could help. (b) Authority to acquire and operate mobile medical assets. Beyond any other power the Secretary already has to do this, the Secretary may buy, deploy, and run mobile medical units if, based on the study in (a), doing so is judged to be helpful and realistic for boosting HHS's surge capacity for communities during an emergency. (c) Using Federal facilities to enhance medical surge capacity. (1) The Secretary must study whether any federal facilities could realistically be used to provide health care during a public health emergency. (2) If that study finds such facilities, the Secretary must try to reach a memorandum of understanding with whichever department or agency runs each facility, allowing its use for health care during an emergency.