Description:
H.R. 4111 would make certain skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) eligible for grants under the Universal Service Fund’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program. The Universal Service program is administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is intended to promote the availability of telecommunications services at affordable rates. The cash flows of the fund appear in the budget as direct spending (for amounts distributed from the fund) and as revenues (for fund collections).
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4111 would increase direct spending by $193 million and revenues by $212 million over the 2017-2026 period, resulting in an estimated net reduction in the deficit of $19 million. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no significant discretionary costs. Pay-as-you-go procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 4111 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
Because CBO expects the FCC would increase fee collections associated with the Universal Service Fund, the bill would increase the cost of an existing mandate on private entities required to pay those fees. Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that the incremental cost of the mandate would amount to no more than $25 million in any of the next five years. Thus, the aggregate cost of the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2016, adjusted annually for inflation).
