[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4624 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4624

   To provide targeted payment relief under the Medicare Program for 
hospitals that primarily serve Medicare and Medicaid patients and have 
 been disproportionately impacted by the payment reductions under the 
                      Balanced Budget Act of 1997.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 9, 2000

 Mr. Duncan (for himself, Mr. Rangel, and Mr. Jenkins) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide targeted payment relief under the Medicare Program for 
hospitals that primarily serve Medicare and Medicaid patients and have 
 been disproportionately impacted by the payment reductions under the 
                      Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

    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 ``High Need Hospital Medicare Rate 
Relief Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. TARGETED RELIEF FOR HOSPITALS DEPENDENT ON MEDICARE AND STATE 
              HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Computation of Targeted Payment Relief Amounts.--
Notwithstanding subclause (XV) of section 1886(b)(3)(B)(i) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(b)(3)(B)(i)), the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall calculate payment amounts under section 
1886(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)) for covered hospitals (as 
defined in subsection (c)) for discharges occurring on or after October 
1, 2000, and before October 1, 2002, as if the applicable percentage 
increase for fiscal year 2000 under such subclause is the market basket 
percentage increase for such fiscal year without reduction.
    (b) Computation of Transitional Payment Amounts.--With respect to 
discharges occurring in each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall pay a covered hospital 102 
percent of the amount otherwise applicable under section 1886(d) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)) for operating costs of 
inpatient hospital services (as defined in section 1886(a)(4) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(a)(4)).
    (c) Hospitals Covered.--In this section, the term ``covered 
hospital'' means a subsection (d) hospital (as defined in section 
1886(d)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B)) 
that--
            (1) for any cost reporting period beginning on or after 
        October 1, 1995, and before October 1, 1997, had combined 
        patient days for patients entitled to benefits under part A of 
        title XVIII of the Social Security Act and for patients 
        eligible for medical assistance under a State plan approved 
        under title XIX of the Social Security Act (including patients 
        eligible for medical assistance by reason of a waiver under 
        section 1115 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1315)), which equal or 
        exceed 65 percent of the hospital's total patient days; and
            (2) has a disproportionate patient percentage (as defined 
        in section 1886(d)(5)(F)(iv) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1395ww(d)(5)(F)(iv)) equal to at least 40 percent.
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