[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4215 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4215

  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply a uniform 
   geographic cost-of-practice index value for physicians' services 
               furnished under the Medicare Program of 1.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2002

  Mrs. Wilson of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to apply a uniform 
   geographic cost-of-practice index value for physicians' services 
               furnished under the Medicare Program of 1.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Access 
Equity Act of 2002''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Americans have paid taxes in to the medicare program 
        equally across the country and every American should have 
        access to quality health care.
            (2) There is a national market for health care providers.
            (3) Increasingly, private insurance companies tie their 
        reimbursement rates to those paid by medicare.
            (4) The physician fee schedule formula for medicare 
        currently includes several adjustments for variable costs 
        throughout the nation. While it is appropriate for the cost of 
        running a practice to reflect overhead differences, physicians 
        should not be compensated for their time differently based on 
        where they live.
            (5) Medicare beneficiaries pay the same part B premium 
        regardless of location which forces subsidization of higher 
        reimbursement areas by seniors in lower reimbursement areas 
        without any corresponding benefit.
            (6) Areas of the country that currently receive the lowest 
        reimbursement from medicare are often the same areas that are 
        experiencing the greatest shortage of physicians. Attracting 
        more physicians to these areas cannot be achieved without 
        greater equity in medicare reimbursement.

SEC. 2. PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE WAGE INDEX REVISION.

    Section 1848(e)(1)(A)(iii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395w-4(e)(1)(A)(iii)) is amended to read as follows:
                            ``(iii)(I) for services furnished before 
                        2003, an index which reflects \1/4\ of the 
                        difference between the relative value of 
                        physicians' work effort in each of the 
                        different fee schedule areas and the national 
                        average of such work effort; and
                            ``(II) for services furnished after 2002, 
                        without regard to any limitation otherwise 
                        applicable under subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii)(II), 
                        an index equal to 1 for relative value of 
                        physicians' work effort in all fee schedule 
                        areas.''.
                                 <all>