[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2241 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2241

  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust wages and 
    wage-related costs for certain items and services furnished in 
                 geographically reclassified hospitals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2000

   Mr. Crapo introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to adjust wages and 
    wage-related costs for certain items and services furnished in 
                 geographically reclassified 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 Wage-Index Reclassification 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. HOSPITAL GEOGRAPHIC RECLASSIFICATION FOR LABOR COSTS FOR ALL 
              ITEMS AND SERVICES REIMBURSED UNDER PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT 
              SYSTEMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1886(d)(10) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(10)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
    ``(G) Application of hospital geographic reclassification for 
inpatient services to all hospital-furnished items and services 
reimbursed under prospective payment system.--
            ``(i) In general.--In the case of a hospital with an 
        application approved by the Medicare Geographic Classification 
        Review Board under subparagraph (C)(i)(II) to change the 
        hospital's geographic classification for a fiscal year for 
        purposes of the factor used to adjust the DRG prospective 
        payment rate for area differences in hospital wage levels that 
        applies to such hospital under paragraph (3)(E), the change in 
        the hospital's geographic classification for such purposes 
        shall apply for purposes of adjustments to payments for 
        variations in costs which are attributable to wages and wage-
        related costs for all PPS-reimbursed items and services.
            ``(ii) PPS-reimbursed items and services defined.--For 
        purposes of clause (i), the term `PPS-reimbursed items and 
        services' means, for cost reporting periods beginning during 
        the fiscal year for which such change has been approved, items 
        and services furnished by the hospital, or by an entity or 
        department of the hospital which is provider-based (as 
        determined by the Secretary), for which payments--
                    ``(I) are made under the prospective payment system 
                for hospital outpatient department services under 
                section 1833(t); and
                    ``(II) are adjusted for variations in costs which 
                are attributable to wages and wage-related costs.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to items and services furnished on or after October 1, 2001.
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