[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 607 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 607

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To provide for a five-year extension of the Medicare rural community 
                    hospital demonstration program.

    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 ``Rural Community Hospital 
Demonstration Extension Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION OF THE RURAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL 
              DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

    (a) Extension.--Section 410A of the Medicare Prescription Drug, 
Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173; 42 
U.S.C. 1395ww note), as amended by sections 3123 and 10313 of the 
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ``5-year extension 
        period'' and inserting ``10-year extension period''; and
            (2) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Five-
                Year'' and inserting ``Ten-Year'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``additional 5-
                year'' and inserting ``additional 10-year'';
                    (C) by striking ``5-year extension period'' and 
                inserting ``10-year extension period'' each place it 
                appears;
                    (D) in paragraph (4)(B)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 
                        inserting ``each 5-year period in'' after 
                        ``hospital during''; and
                            (ii) in clause (i), by inserting ``each 
                        applicable 5-year period in'' after ``the first 
                        day of''; and
                    (E) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(5) Other hospitals in demonstration program.--During the 
        second 5 years of the 10-year extension period, the Secretary 
        shall apply the provisions of paragraph (4) to rural community 
        hospitals that are not described in paragraph (4) but are 
        participating in the demonstration program under this section 
        as of December 30, 2014, in a similar manner as such provisions 
        apply to rural community hospitals described in paragraph (4).
            ``(6) Expansion of demonstration program to rural areas in 
        any state.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, 
                notwithstanding subsection (a)(2) or paragraph (2) of 
                this subsection, not later than 120 days after the date 
                of the enactment of this paragraph, issue a 
                solicitation for applications to select up to the 
                maximum number of additional rural community hospitals 
                located in any State to participate in the 
                demonstration program under this section for the second 
                5 years of the 10-year extension period without 
                exceeding the limitation under paragraph (3) of this 
                subsection.
                    ``(B) Priority.--In determining which rural 
                community hospitals that submitted an application 
                pursuant to the solicitation under subparagraph (A) to 
                select for participation in the demonstration program, 
                the Secretary--
                            ``(i) shall give priority to rural 
                        community hospitals located in one of the 20 
                        States with the lowest population densities (as 
                        determined by the Secretary using the 2015 
                        Statistical Abstract of the United States); and
                            ``(ii) may consider--
                                    ``(I) closures of hospitals located 
                                in rural areas in the State in which 
                                the rural community hospital is located 
                                during the 5-year period immediately 
                                preceding the date of the enactment of 
                                this paragraph; and
                                    ``(II) the population density of 
                                the State in which the rural community 
                                hospital is located.''.
    (b) Change in Timing for Report.--Subsection (e) of such section 
410A is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Not later than 6 months after the 
        completion of the demonstration program under this section'' 
        and inserting ``Not later than August 1, 2018''; and
            (2) by striking ``such program'' and inserting ``the 
        demonstration program under this section''.

            Passed the Senate January 20, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 607

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To provide for a five-year extension of the Medicare rural community 
                    hospital demonstration program.