1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Emergency Care Improvement Act . 2. Coverage under Medicare and Medicaid of services furnished by freestanding emergency centers (a) Coverage under Medicare part B Section 1832(a)(2) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395k(a) ) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking and at the end; (2) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (K) services of a freestanding emergency center, as defined in section 1861(jjj). . (b) Definition of freestanding emergency center Section 1861 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395x ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (jjj) Freestanding emergency center The term freestanding emergency center means a facility not owned by a hospital which— (1) meets all State requirements applicable to facilities which furnish emergency medical services to individuals but does not generally provide for stays in excess of 24 hours, and meets such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe not in excess of the conditions of participation under this title that are specifically applicable to off campus dedicated emergency departments of hospitals as described in section 482.55 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulations), and not the conditions of participation under this title that are applicable to hospitals generally other than with respect to compliance with section 1867 (commonly known as EMTALA ); (2) is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year with onsite access to physicians at all times; (3) has in place mechanisms to allow for appropriate transfers and referrals; (4) develops, implements, and maintains an ongoing, data-driven quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) program