II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4078 

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require the Center for 

Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test a model to improve access 

to specialty health services for certain Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2024 

Mr. MULLIN (for himself, Ms. SINEMA, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require 

the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test 

a model to improve access to specialty health services 

for certain Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equal Access to Spe5 cialty care Everywhere Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘EASE Act 

6 of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRING THE CENTER FOR MEDICARE AND MED2 ICAID INNOVATION TO TEST A MODEL TO IM3 PROVE ACCESS TO SPECIALTY HEALTH SERV4 ICES FOR CERTAIN MEDICARE AND MED5 ICAID BENEFICIARIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1115A of the Social Secu7 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1315a) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the third sen10 tence, by inserting ‘‘, and shall include the 

11 model described in subparagraph (B)(xxviii)’’ 

12 before the period at the end; and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the 

14 end the following new clause: 

15 ‘‘(xxviii) The Specialty Health Care 

16 Services Access Model described in sub17 section (h).’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(h) SPECIALTY HEALTH CARE SERVICES ACCESS

21 MODEL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

23 (b)(2)(B)(xxviii), the Specialty Health Care Services 

24 Access Model described in this subsection is a model 

25 under which the Secretary enters into an agreement 

26 with one or more provider networks selected in acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4078.IS S4078

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1 cordance with paragraph (2) for purposes of fur2 nishing specialty health care services (as specified by 

3 the Secretary) to eligible individuals through the use 

4 of digital modalities (such as telehealth and other re5 mote technologies) in coordination with such individ6 uals’ primary care providers. 

7 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF PROVIDER NETWORKS.— 

8 The Secretary shall select one or more networks of 

9 providers for purposes of furnishing services under 

10 the model described in paragraph (1). Any such net11 work so selected shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) be comprised of at least 50 Federally 

13 qualified health centers, rural health clinics, 

14 critical access hospitals, or rural emergency 

15 hospitals, at least half of which are located in 

16 rural areas (as defined by the Administrator of 

17 the Health Resources and Services Administra18 tion); 

19 ‘‘(B) be a nonprofit entity under section 

20 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986; 

22 ‘‘(C) have an established record of sup23 porting the delivery of health care in rural and 

24 underserved communities in multiple regions 

25 throughout the country; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) have the ability to collect, exchange, 

2 and evaluate data for purposes of the model de3 scribed in paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—For 

5 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘eligible indi6 vidual’ means an individual— 

7 ‘‘(A) who— 

8 ‘‘(i) is entitled to benefits under part 

9 A of title XVIII or enrolled under part B 

10 of such title; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) is enrolled under the Medicaid 

12 program under title XIX or the Children’s 

13 Health Insurance Program under title XXI 

14 and meets all components for eligibility for 

15 medical assistance, child health assistance, 

16 or pregnancy-related assistance (as appli17 cable), including those described in sec18 tions 1902(a)(46)(B) and 1137(d); and 

19 ‘‘(B) who is located in a rural or under20 served area (as specified by the Secretary).’’. 

21 (b) LIMITATION.—Any amounts appropriated or allo22 cated to carry out the amendments made by this section 

23 shall be subject to the requirements contained in Public 

24 Law 117–328 for funds for programs authorized under 


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1 sections 330 through 340 of the Public Health Service Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 254b through 256). 

Æ 


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