[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1373 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1373

  To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consider, 
   within the annual rulemaking processes, the effect of regulatory 
 changes to certain Medicare payment systems on provider consolidation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2015

 Mr. Burgess introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consider, 
   within the annual rulemaking processes, the effect of regulatory 
 changes to certain Medicare payment systems on provider consolidation.

    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 ``Providers Consolidation and Medicare 
Payments Examined through Evaluation Act of 2015'' or the ``Providers 
COMPETE Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. RULEMAKING THAT IMPLEMENTS CERTAIN MEDICARE PAYMENT CHANGES TO 
              CONSIDER EFFECTS ON PROVIDER CONSOLIDATION.

    (a) In General.--Beginning for 2016, as part of any annual notice 
and comment rulemaking process to implement changes to payment systems 
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) 
for items and services under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
(including those for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, 
physicians' services, and services furnished by other providers of 
services and suppliers), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall seek public comment on and evaluate the extent to which, and how, 
such a change is projected to affect provider consolidation.
    (b) Coordination and Consultation.--
            (1) Internal coordination.--For purposes of conducting the 
        evaluations under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services shall ensure appropriate coordination within the 
        Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services such that experts with 
        respect to the applicable payment system under title XVIII of 
        the Social Security Act work collaboratively for purposes of 
        such evaluations.
            (2) Consultation.--For purposes of conducting the 
        evaluations under subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services may consult with the Medicare Payment Advisory 
        Commission established under section 1805 of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395b-6), the Federal Trade Commission, 
        other governmental agencies, and private sector entities.
    (c) Provider Consolidation Defined.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``provider consolidation'' includes the vertical or horizontal 
integration among providers of services and suppliers, including 
professional practices, health care settings, and ancillary services by 
any entity (such as a health system, group practice, or health 
insurer).
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