HARMON Oklahoma Act

To assist in the transition of a certain hospital to a Medicare rural emergency hospital, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Helping Account for Rural Medical Outpatient Needs in Oklahoma Act HARMON Oklahoma Act 2. Assistance in the transition of a certain hospital to a medicare rural emergency hospital (a) Special rule In the case of a critical access hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm) (1) Pursuant to the June 11, 2021, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services letter sent to the critical access hospital— (A) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretary (B) the hospital shall have 19.7 months after the end of the COVID–19 public health emergency to notify the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the hospital’s intent to either convert to an acute care hospital, transition to a rural emergency hospital under section 1861(kkk) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395x(kkk) (2) Prior to the end of the 19.7 months described in paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall not take an adverse redesignation action with respect to the critical access hospital status of the hospital as long as the hospital continues to meet all of the requirements for designation as a critical access hospital other than the distance requirement under section 1820(c)(2)(B)(i) of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395i–4(c)(2)(B)(i) (3) If, prior to the end of the 19.7 months described in paragraph (1)(B), the critical access hospital notifies the Secretary of the hospital’s intention to transition to a rural emergency hospital, the Secretary— (A) shall give priority to the processing of the request for such transition; and (B) shall not take an adverse redesignation action with respect to the critical access hospital status of the hospital prior to the later of— (i) the end of the 19.7 months described in paragraph (1)(B); or (ii) the date the Secretary makes a final determination with respect to such request. (b) Timeline for regulations (1) In general The Secretary shall— (A) not later than July 1, 2022, promulgate a proposed rule to carry out the provisions of, and amendments made by, section 125 of division CC of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( Public Law 116–260 (B) not later than November 1, 2022, promulgate a final rule to carry out such provisions and amendments. (2) Additional information The Secretary shall ensure that the proposed and final rules required under paragraph (1) contain a description of the additional information that will be required under section 1861(kkk)(4) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395x(kkk)(4)

Summary: Helping Account for Rural Medical Outpatient Needs in Oklahoma Act or the HARMON Oklahoma Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue to allow Harmon Memorial Hospital in Hollis, Oklahoma, to retain its designation as a critical access hospital and to seek designation as a rural emergency hospital under Medicare after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, as specified in a prior letter sent to the hospital. The bill also requires the CMS to issue final regulations implementing the newly created Medicare rural emergency hospital program by November 1, 2022.