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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 876 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.876

                     One Hundred Fourteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the sixth day of January, two thousand and fifteen

                                 An Act

 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require hospitals to 
    provide certain notifications to individuals classified by such 
hospitals under observation status rather than admitted as inpatients of 
                             such hospitals.

    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 ``Notice of Observation Treatment and 
Implication for Care Eligibility Act'' or the ``NOTICE Act''.
SEC. 2. MEDICARE REQUIREMENT FOR HOSPITAL NOTIFICATIONS OF OBSERVATION 
STATUS.
    Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
        (1) in subparagraph (V), by striking at the end ``and'';
        (2) in the first subparagraph (W), by striking at the end the 
    period and inserting a comma;
        (3) in the second subparagraph (W)--
            (A) by redesignating such subparagraph as subparagraph (X); 
        and
            (B) by striking at the end the period and inserting ``, 
        and''; and
        (4) by inserting after such subparagraph (X) the following new 
    subparagraph:
        ``(Y) beginning 12 months after the date of the enactment of 
    this subparagraph, in the case of a hospital or critical access 
    hospital, with respect to each individual who receives observation 
    services as an outpatient at such hospital or critical access 
    hospital for more than 24 hours, to provide to such individual not 
    later than 36 hours after the time such individual begins receiving 
    such services (or, if sooner, upon release)--
            ``(i) such oral explanation of the written notification 
        described in clause (ii), and such documentation of the 
        provision of such explanation, as the Secretary determines to 
        be appropriate;
            ``(ii) a written notification (as specified by the 
        Secretary pursuant to rulemaking and containing such language 
        as the Secretary prescribes consistent with this paragraph) 
        which--
                ``(I) explains the status of the individual as an 
            outpatient receiving observation services and not as an 
            inpatient of the hospital or critical access hospital and 
            the reasons for such status of such individual;
                ``(II) explains the implications of such status on 
            services furnished by the hospital or critical access 
            hospital (including services furnished on an inpatient 
            basis), such as implications for cost-sharing requirements 
            under this title and for subsequent eligibility for 
            coverage under this title for services furnished by a 
            skilled nursing facility;
                ``(III) includes such additional information as the 
            Secretary determines appropriate;
                ``(IV) either--

                    ``(aa) is signed by such individual or a person 
                acting on such individual's behalf to acknowledge 
                receipt of such notification; or
                    ``(bb) if such individual or person refuses to 
                provide the signature described in item (aa), is signed 
                by the staff member of the hospital or critical access 
                hospital who presented the written notification and 
                includes the name and title of such staff member, a 
                certification that the notification was presented, and 
                the date and time the notification was presented; and

                ``(V) is written and formatted using plain language and 
            is made available in appropriate languages as determined by 
            the Secretary.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
```