[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1953 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1953

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 
geographic physician work adjustment factor from the geographic indices 
       used to adjust payments under the physician fee schedule.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2002

   Mr. Feingold (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Dayton) 
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 eliminate the 
geographic physician work adjustment factor from the geographic indices 
       used to adjust payments under the physician fee schedule.

    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 ``Physician Wage Fairness Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF GEOGRAPHIC PHYSICIAN WORK ADJUSTMENT FACTOR FROM 
              GEOGRAPHIC INDICES USED TO ADJUST PAYMENTS UNDER THE 
              PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Variations in the geographic physician work adjustment 
        factors under section 1848(e) of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1395w-4(e)) result in inequity between localities in 
        payments under the medicare physician fee schedule.
            (2) Beneficiaries under the medicare program that reside in 
        areas where such adjustment factors are high have relatively 
        more access to services that are paid based on such fee 
        schedule.
            (3) There are a number of studies indicating that the 
        market for health care professionals has become nationalized 
        and historically low labor costs in rural and small urban areas 
        have disappeared.
            (4) Elimination of the adjustment factors described in 
        paragraph (1) would equalize the reimbursement rate for 
        services reimbursed under the medicare physician fee schedule 
        while remaining budget-neutral.
    (b) Elimination.--Section 1848(e) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395w-4(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A)(iii), by striking ``an index'' and 
        inserting ``for services provided before January 1, 2003, an 
        index'' after ``Secretary''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, for services 
        provided before January 1, 2003,'' after ``paragraph (4)), 
        and''.
    (c) Budget Neutrality Adjustment for Elimination of Geographic 
Physician Work Adjustment Factor.--Section 1848(d) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``The conversion'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to paragraph (5), the conversion''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Budget neutrality adjustment for elimination of 
        geographic physician work adjustment factor.--Before applying 
        an update for a year under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
        (if necessary) provide for an adjustment to the conversion 
        factor for that year to ensure that the aggregate payments 
        under this part in that year shall be equal to aggregate 
        payments that would have been made under such part in that year 
        if the amendments made by section 2(b) of the Physician Wage 
        Fairness Act of 2001 had not been enacted.''.
                                 <all>