[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3369-S3370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SANTORUM:
  S. 2260. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for fairness in the calculation of medicare disproportionate 
share hospital payments for hospitals in Puerto Rico; to the Committee 
on Finance.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I am introducing today the Medicare DSH 
payments for Puerto Rico Hospitals Fairness Act of 2004. This 
legislation seeks to provide fairness for Puerto Rico hospitals in 
their qualification for disproportionate share payments under the 
Medicare Program.
  The primary purpose of the DSH program is to reimburse hospitals for 
the higher Medicare costs associated with treating low-income Medicare 
patients. Under current law, hospitals providing essential health care 
to low-income Medicare patients in Puerto Rico are effectively denied 
equitable reimbursement, because the law is being applied in such a way 
that a significant portion of the low-income population served by 
Puerto Rico hospitals is not allowed to count toward DSH calculations.
  The legislation that I am introducing today would amend section 
1886(d)(9)(D)(iii) of the Social Security Act to help ensure that 
Puerto Rico's low-income Medicare beneficiaries and hospitals that 
treat them have access to the same health care as the mainland.
  I ask unanimous consent that the next of the bill be printed in the 
Record.

[[Page S3370]]

  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2260

       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 DSH Payments for 
     Puerto Rico Hospitals Fairness Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. CALCULATION OF MEDICARE DSH PAYMENTS FOR PPS 
                   HOSPITALS IN PUERTO RICO.

       Section 1886(d)(9)(D)(iii) of the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(9)(D)(iii)) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(iii) Subparagraph (F) (relating to disproportionate 
     share payments), except that for this purpose--
       ``(I) the sum described in clause (ii) of this subparagraph 
     shall be substituted for the sum referred to in paragraph 
     (5)(F)(ii)(I); and
       ``(II) for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 
     2004, subclause (I) of paragraph (5)(F)(vi) shall be applied 
     by substituting for the numerator described in such subclause 
     the number of a subsection (d) Puerto Rico hospital's patient 
     days for a cost reporting period that are made up of patients 
     who (for such days) were entitled to benefits under part A of 
     this title and were recipients of aid under the State plan 
     approved under title XVI that provides for grants to States 
     for aid to the aged, blind, or disabled.''.
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