[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8834-S8835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RURAL ACO PROVIDER EQUITY ACT OF 2015

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 
2261 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2261) to amend title XVIII of the Social 
     Security Act to improve the way beneficiaries are assigned 
     under the Medicare shared savings program by also basing such 
     assignment on services furnished by Federally qualified 
     health centers and rural health clinics.


[[Page S8835]]


  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill 
be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2261) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2261

       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 ACO Provider Equity 
     Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER 
                   THE MEDICARE SHARED SAVINGS PROGRAM.

       Section 1899(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395jjj(c)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``utilization of primary'' and inserting 
     ``utilization of--
       ``(1) in the case of performance years beginning on or 
     after April 1, 2012, primary'';
       (2) in paragraph (1), as added by paragraph (1) of this 
     section, by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) in the case of performance years beginning on or 
     after January 1, 2018, services provided under this title by 
     a Federally qualified health center or rural health clinic 
     (as those terms are defined in section 1861(aa)), as may be 
     determined by the Secretary.''.

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