[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4533 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4533

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to rectify overpayment 
                  to certain long-term care hospitals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 9, 1988

  Mr. Stark introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to rectify overpayment 
                  to certain long-term care hospitals.

    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 ``Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital 
Payment Correction Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. ADJUSTMENT IN PAYMENT AMOUNT TO LONG-TERM CARE HOSPITALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1886(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395ww(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``subject to 
        paragraph (8)'' before ``are less than or equal to the target 
        amount''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(8)(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in the case of a hospital 
described in subsection (d)(1)(B)(iv), the Secretary shall compare--
            ``(i) the average inpatient length of stay of such hospital 
        during the cost reporting period described in clause (i) or 
        (ii) of paragraph (3)(A), and
            ``(ii) the average inpatient length of stay of such 
        hospital during the two cost reporting period beginning for 
        which the Secretary has the most recent settled cost report for 
        the hospital.
    ``(B) If the Secretary determines that the average inpatient length 
of stay described in subparagraph (A)(ii) is 5 percent less than the 
average inpatient length of stay described in subparagraph (A)(i), the 
target amount for such hospital for the cost reporting period beginning 
during the current fiscal year shall be equal to the product of--
            ``(i) the target amount for the cost reporting period 
        described in subparagraph (A)(i), and
            ``(ii) the fraction (expressed as a percentage), the 
        numerator of which is the target amount for the cost reporting 
        period described in subparagraph (A)(ii), and the denominator 
        of which is the target amount for the cost reporting period 
        described in subparagraph (A)(i).''.
    (b) Consideration of Length of Stay in Long-Term Care Prospective 
Payment System Proposal Under Balanced Budget Act of 1997.--Section 
4422(a)(2) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) is 
amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) shall consider adjustments in amount of 
                payments to long-term care hospitals whose average 
                inpatient length of stay during the base year greatly 
                exceeds the hospitals' average inpatient length of stay 
                in later years.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to cost reporting periods beginning on or after 
October 1, 1998.
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