II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1595 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 12, 2007 Mr. Smith (for himself and Mr. Wyden) 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 provide flexibility in the manner in which beds are counted for purposes of determining whether a hospital may be designated as a critical access hospital under the Medicare program.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Critical Access Hospital Flexibility Act of 2007.

2.

Flexibility in the manner in which beds are counted for purposes of determining whether a hospital may be designated as a critical access hospital under the Medicare program

(a)

In general

Section 1820(c)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i–4(c)(2)(B)) is amended— (1)in clause (iii), by inserting (or 20, as determined on an annual, average basis) after 25; and (2)by adding at the end the following flush sentence: In determining the number of beds for purposes of clause (iii), only beds that are occupied shall be counted.. (b)

Effective date

The amendments made by this section take effect on January 1, 2008.