[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3678 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3678

 To extend the Medicare waiver of liability provisions for home health 
      agencies, hospice programs, and skilled nursing facilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 1996

   Mr. Jacobs (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Johnson of 
Connecticut, Mr. DeDermott, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. Coyne, Mr. 
  Bunning of Kentucky, Mr. Albercombie, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Baldacci, Ms. 
   Norton, and Mr. Ehlers) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To extend the Medicare waiver of liability provisions for home health 
      agencies, hospice programs, and skilled nursing facilities.

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

SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF WAIVER OF PRESUMPTION OF LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF 
              EXCLUSION FROM COVERAGE FOR HOME HEALTH AGENCIES AND 
              HOSPICE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Home Health Agencies.--
            (1) Section 9305(g)(3) of Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
        of 1986, as amended by section 426(d) of the Medicare 
        Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 and section 4207(b)(3) of the 
        Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (as renumbered by 
        section 160(d)(4) of the Social Security Act Amendments of 
        1994), is amended by striking ``December 31, 1995'' and 
        inserting ``the effective date of a prospective payment system 
        for payment for home health services under title XVIII of the 
        Social Security Act''.
            (2) The second sentence of section 9205 of the Consolidated 
        Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended by 
        section 426(d) of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 
        1988 and section 158(b)(1) of the Social Security Act 
        Amendments of 1994, is amended by striking ``December 31, 
        1995'' and inserting ``the effective date of a prospective 
        payment system for payment for home health services under title 
        XVIII of the Social Security Act''.
    (b) Hospice Programs.--
            (1) Section 9305(f)(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 
        Act of 1986, as amended by section 426(a) of the Medicare 
        Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 and by section 4008(a)(2) of 
        the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, is amended by 
        striking ``and before December 31, 1995''.
            (2) Section 1879 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395pp) is amended--
                    (A) in subsections (a) and (c), by inserting ``or 
                (i)'' after ``subsection (g)'' each place it appears; 
                and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(i) The coverage denial described in this subsection is, with 
respect to the provision of hospice care to an individual, a failure to 
meet the requirements of section 1814(a)(7)(A) in that the individual 
is not terminally ill (as defined in section 1861(dd)(3)(A)).''.
    (c) Skilled Nursing Facilities.--Section 9126(c) of the 
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended by 
section 426(b) of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 and 
section 4008(a)(1) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, is 
amended by striking ``December 31, 1995'' and inserting ``the effective 
date of a prospective payment system for payment for extended care 
services under title XVIII of the Social Security Act''.
    (d) Effective Date.--
            (1) The amendments made by this section (other than 
        subsection (b)(2)) shall be effective as of December 31, 1995.
            (2) The amendments made by subsection (b)(2) shall be 
        effective for hospice care furnished on or after July 1, 1996.
                                 <all>