II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3117 

To apply an alternative payment amount under the Medicare program for 

certain graduate medical education programs established to train residents displaced by natural disasters. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2008 

Mr. VITTER (for himself and Ms. LANDRIEU) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To apply an alternative payment amount under the Medicare 

program for certain graduate medical education programs established to train residents displaced by natural 

disasters. 

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

3 SECTION 1. ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT AMOUNTS FOR GRAD4 UATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS ES5 TABLISHED TO TRAIN RESIDENTS DIS6 PLACED BY NATURAL DISASTERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, in applying section 1886(h) of the Social SecuVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:42 Jun 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3117.IS S3117

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1 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)(2)), and any regulations 

2 implementing such section, with respect to an eligible hos3 pital for a cost reporting period beginning on or after July 

4 1, 2005, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

5 shall provide for payments for direct graduate education 

6 costs in accordance with subsection (c) for such hospital 

7 and cost reporting period. 

8 (b) ELIGIBLE HOSPITAL DEFINED.—In this section, 

9 the term ‘‘eligible hospital’’ means a hospital that— 

10 (1) did not have a graduate medical education 

11 program under section 1886(h) of the Social Secu12 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)) before the date of 

13 a presidential declaration of major disaster issued 

14 under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

15 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; 

16 (2) established such a program to educate resi17 dents displaced from a graduate medical education 

18 program impacted by such disaster; and 

19 (3) is located in a wage area that is in, or im20 mediately adjacent to, an area for which such dis21 aster was declared. 

22 (c) PAYMENT TO ELIGIBLE HOSPITALS.—The pay23 ment amount for an eligible hospital for a cost reporting 

24 period in which the hospital operates a graduate medical 


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1 education program referred to in subsection (b)(2) shall 

2 be— 

3 (1) for the first such cost reporting period, the 

4 reasonable costs (as determined based on rules ap5 plied in determining reasonable costs under section 

6 1886(h)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act) incurred 

7 by the hospital for such program; 

8 (2) for the second such cost reporting period, 

9 computed based on an alternative FTE resident 

10 amount calculated as described in section 

11 1886(h)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1395ww(h)(2)(A)), but using the reasonable costs 

13 incurred by the hospital for such program during 

14 such second cost reporting period and the number of 

15 FTE residents (as described in section 

16 1886(h)(3)(B)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)(3)(B)(ii)) in the program for 

18 such second cost reporting period; and 

19 (3) for the third such cost reporting period and 

20 each subsequent cost reporting period, computed 

21 based on the alternative FTE resident amount under 

22 this section for the previous cost reporting period, 

23 updated and adjusted as described in section 


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1 1886(h)(2)(D) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 1395ww(h)(2)(D)). 

Æ 


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