[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1222 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1222

    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, in determining eligibility for 
      payment under the prospective payment system for inpatient 
     rehabilitation facilities, to apply criteria consistent with 
 rehabilitation impairment categories established by the Secretary for 
              purposes of such prospective payment system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 10, 2003

   Mr. Nelson of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. Bunning, and Mr. Hagel) 
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 require the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, in determining eligibility for 
      payment under the prospective payment system for inpatient 
     rehabilitation facilities, to apply criteria consistent with 
 rehabilitation impairment categories established by the Secretary for 
              purposes of such prospective payment system.

    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 Beneficiary Access to 
Rehabilitation Facilities Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS OF REHABILITATION HOSPITAL; REHABILITATION UNIT.

    Section 1886(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(j)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
            ``(8) Definitions of rehabilitation hospital; 
        rehabilitation unit.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall by 
                regulation define the terms `rehabilitation hospital' 
                and `rehabilitation unit' in a manner fully consistent 
                with all the rehabilitation impairment categories 
                (except miscellaneous) used to classify patients into 
                case-mix groups pursuant to paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Periodic update required.--The Secretary 
                shall update the regulations promulgated under 
                subparagraph (A) periodically to ensure that such 
                definitions remain fully consistent with the 
                rehabilitation impairment categories used to classify 
                patients into case-mix groups pursuant to paragraph 
                (2).''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RETROACTIVE ENFORCEMENT.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall not seek to recoup any overpayment, take any 
enforcement action, or impose any sanction or penalty, with respect to 
a rehabilitation hospital, or a converted rehabilitation unit, (as such 
terms are defined for purposes of the medicare program under title 
XVIII of the Social Security Act) insofar as such overpayment, 
enforcement action, sanction or penalty, is for failure to satisfy the 
requirement of section 412.23(b)(2) of title 42, Code of Federal 
Regulations, that 75 percent of the patients of the rehabilitation 
hospital or converted rehabilitation unit are in 1 or more of 10 listed 
treatment categories (commonly referred to as the ``75 Percent Rule'').
                                 <all>