[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2186 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2186

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 
 minimum Medicare payment rate for primary care services furnished by 
                        primary care physicians.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2014

  Mr. Begich 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 for a 
 minimum Medicare payment rate for primary care services furnished by 
                        primary care physicians.

    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 Access Improvement Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that the 2010 Report to Congress of the Interagency 
Access to Health Care In Alaska Task Force found that--
            (1) there is a shortage of primary care Medicare providers 
        in Alaska, a problem most severe in Anchorage but evident in 
        Fairbanks as well as in rural Alaska;
            (2) the main reason physicians give for not wanting to add 
        new Medicare patients is their perception of Medicare's 
        inadequate reimbursement;
            (3) the Medicare program has the lowest reimbursement level 
        of the six primary payers of health care in Alaska;
            (4) the typical physician can have a viable practice in 
        Alaska without servicing any Medicare patients; and
            (5) many in the provider community believe that a fair, 
        adequate, and uniform Federal rate would alleviate existing 
        provider shortages in Alaska.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM MEDICARE PAYMENT RATE FOR PRIMARY CARE SERVICES 
              FURNISHED BY PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS.

    Section 1848(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-4(b)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(8) Minimum payment rate for primary care services 
        furnished by primary care physicians.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of this section, subject to paragraphs (3), 
                (7), and (8) of subsection (a) and subsection (p), the 
                payment rate under the fee schedule under this section 
                for primary care services (as defined in subparagraph 
                (B)) furnished in 2015 and 2016 by a physician with a 
                primary specialty designation of family medicine, 
                general internal medicine, or geriatric medicine may 
                not be less than 100 percent of the payment rate that 
                applied in 2013 to such services and such a physician 
                under the Medicaid plan under title XIX for the State 
                in which the service is furnished.
                    ``(B) Primary care services defined.--In 
                subparagraph (A), the term `primary care services' 
                means evaluation and management services that are 
                procedure codes for services in the category designated 
                Evaluation and Management in the Healthcare Common 
                Procedure Coding System (established by the Secretary 
                under subsection (c)(5) as of December 31, 2014, and as 
                subsequently modified).''.
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