II 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3582 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 25 (legislative day, September 17), 2008 Mr. Lautenberg (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Lieberman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To require continued application of budget neutrality on a national basis in calculation of the Medicare urban hospital wage floor.

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Short title

This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Our Hospitals’ Futures Act of 2008.

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Continued application of budget neutrality on a national basis in calculation of the Medicare urban hospital wage floor

In the case of discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2008, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall continue to administer section 4410(b) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww note) and section 412.64(e) of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, in the same manner as the Secretary administered such sections for discharges occurring during fiscal year 2008 (through a uniform, national adjustment to the area wage index).