[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3106 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3106

    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to clarify the 
    definition of homebound under the medicare home health benefit.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 25 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

  Mr. Jeffords (for himself, Mr. Reed, and Mr. Leahy) 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 clarify the 
    definition of homebound under the medicare home health benefit.

    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 ``The Home Health Care Protection Act 
of 2000''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF THE HOMEBOUND DEFINITION UNDER THE MEDICARE 
              HOME HEALTH BENEFIT.

    (a) In General.--Sections 1814(a) and 1835(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a) and 1395n(a)) are each amended--
            (1) in the last sentence, by striking ``, and that absences 
        of the individual from home are infrequent or of relatively 
        short duration, or are attributable to the need to receive 
        medical treatment''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new sentences: ``Any 
        absence of an individual from the home attributable to the need 
        to receive health care treatment, including regular absences 
        for the purpose of participating in therapeutic, psychosocial, 
        or medical treatment in an adult day-care program that is 
        licensed or certified by a State, or accredited, to furnish 
        adult day-care services in the State shall not disqualify an 
        individual from being considered to be `confined to his home'. 
        Any other absence of an individual from the home shall not so 
        disqualify an individual if the absence is of infrequent or 
        short duration. For purposes of the preceding sentence, any 
        absence for the purpose of visiting a family member who is 
        unable to visit the individual or for the purpose of attending 
        a religious service shall be deemed to be an absence of 
        infrequent and short duration.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to items and services provided on or after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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