[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3262 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3262

  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand coverage 
 under part B of the Medicare program of certain antibiotics which are 
  parenterally administered in a home setting, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



Ms. Greene of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 
 Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to expand coverage 
 under part B of the Medicare program of certain antibiotics which are 
  parenterally administered in a home setting, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Common Sense Medicare Antibiotic 
Coverage Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. EXPANDED MEDICARE COVERAGE OF ANTIBIOTICS ADMINISTERED 
              PARENTERALLY IN HOME SETTING.

    (a) In General.--Section 1861(n) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(n)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``an antibiotic 
        described in paragraph (2),'' after ``hospital beds,'';
            (2) by striking ``(n)'' and inserting ``(n)(1)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) An antibiotic described in this paragraph is any of the 
following antibiotics which is administered parenterally, using an 
access device that is inserted into the body:
            ``(A) Vancomycin.
            ``(B) Cefazolin.
            ``(C) Ceftriaxone.
            ``(D) Ceftazidime.
            ``(E) Any other antibiotic which the Secretary (in 
        consultation with experts in the field of infectious diseases) 
        considers appropriate for purposes of this subsection, taking 
        into account medical necessity and the extent to which coverage 
        of the antibiotic under this subsection would result in savings 
        to the program under this title.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to antibiotics furnished on or after January 1, 1997.

SEC. 3. EFFECTS OF COVERAGE ON OVERALL EXPENDITURES UNDER MEDICARE 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Report on Adjustments to Payments.--Not later than April 1, 
1997, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make 
recommendations to Congress concerning appropriate adjustments to the 
payment amounts provided for items and services under title XVIII of 
the Social Security Act to take into account the reduced costs to 
individuals and entities providing such items and services resulting 
from the coverage under part B of the medicare program of certain 
antibiotics as items of durable medical equipment under section 1861(n) 
of the such Act (as amended by section 2(a)).
    (b) Requiring Budget-Neutrality in Implementation of Coverage.--The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall adjust payment amounts 
provided for items and services under title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act in such manner as the Secretary considers appropriate to 
ensure that aggregate payments under such title in any fiscal year are 
not greater or less than those that would have been made in the year 
had section 2(a) not been enacted into law.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON COVERAGE OF ADDITIONAL ANTIBIOTICS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a report to 
Congress describing the additional antibiotics to be treated as items 
of durable medical equipment pursuant to section 1861(n)(2)(E) of the 
Social Security Act (as added by section 2(a)).
                                 <all>