[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4689 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4689

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase the bonus 
payment provided for physicians' services furnished under part B of the 
 medicare program in a health professional shortage area to 20 percent 
in the case of primary care services, to establish updates for 1995 in 
the conversion factors used to determine the amount of payment made for 
    physicians' services under the medicare program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 1994

 Ms. Lambert introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly 
      to the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase the bonus 
payment provided for physicians' services furnished under part B of the 
 medicare program in a health professional shortage area to 20 percent 
in the case of primary care services, to establish updates for 1995 in 
the conversion factors used to determine the amount of payment made for 
    physicians' services under the medicare program, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. BONUS PAYMENT FOR PHYSICIAN SERVICES PROVIDED IN HEALTH 
              PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE AREAS.

    (a) Increase in Amount of Payment for Primary Care Services.--
Section 1833(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(m)) is 
amended by inserting after ``10 percent'' the following: ``(or, in the 
case of primary care services defined in section 1842(i)(4), 20 
percent)''.
    (b) Extension to Certain Nonphysician Providers and Other Medicare-
dependent Providers.--Section 1833(m) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(m)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(m)'' and inserting ``(m)(1)'';
            (2) by inserting ``described in paragraph (2)'' after 
        ``physicians' services'';
            (3) by striking ``in an area'' and all that follows through 
        ``shortage area,'';
            (4) by striking ``the physician'' and inserting ``the 
        provider of the service''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) In paragraph (1), physicians' services described in this 
paragraph are services--
            ``(A) furnished in an area designated (under section 
        332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act) as a health 
        professional shortage area; or
            ``(B) furnished during a year by a provider with respect to 
        whom not less than 75 percent of the patients for whom the 
        provider furnishes such services during the year are 
        individuals--
                    ``(i) who are entitled to benefits under this 
                title;
                    ``(ii) who are eligible for medical assistance 
                under a State plan approved under title XIX; or
                    ``(iii) with respect to whom the provider did not 
                receive any payment for the service.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall apply to services furnished on or after January 1, 1995.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF UPDATE TO CONVERSION FACTOR FOR SERVICES 
              FURNISHED IN 1995.

    Section 1848(d)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-
4(d)(3)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by amending clause (v) to read as follows:
                            ``(v) Establishment of percentage increase 
                        for 1995.--In applying clause (i) for services 
                        furnished in 1995, the percentage increase in 
                        the appropriate update index shall be equal 
                        to--
                                    ``(I) 10.7 percentage points for 
                                services included in the category of 
                                surgical services (as defined for 
                                purposes of subsection (j)(1)),
                                    ``(II) 10.1 percentage points for 
                                services included in the category of 
                                primary care services (as defined for 
                                purposes of subsection (j)(1)), and
                                    ``(III) 7.4 percentage points for 
                                any services not described in subclause 
                                (I) or subclause (II).''; and
            (2) in clause (vi), by striking ``Clauses (iv) and (v)'' 
        and inserting ``Clause (iv)''.
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