I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2492
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise medicare payment
policy with respect to home health services furnished under the medicare
program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 13, 1999
Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. LAZIO) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to
the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise
medicare payment policy with respect to home health
services furnished under the medicare program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medicare Home Health
Payment Improvement Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF SCHEDULED 15 PERCENT REDUC-
TION.
(a) PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM.—
porting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, as
a result of payment limitations provided for under clause
(v), (vi), or (viii) of section 1861(v)(1)(L) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(v)(1)(L)), the home health
agency may elect to repay the amount of such overpay-
ment over a 60-month period beginning on the date of no-
tification of such overpayment.
(b) INTEREST ON OVERPAYMENT AMOUNTS.—
(1) 60-MONTH GRACE PERIOD.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an agen-
cy that makes an election under subsection (a),
no interest shall accrue on the outstanding bal-
ance of the amount of overpayment during such
60-month period.
(B) OVERDUE BALANCES.—In the case of
such an agency, interest shall accrue on any
outstanding balance of the amount of overpay-
ment after termination of such 60-month pe-
riod. Interest shall accrue under this subpara-
graph at the rate of interest charged by banks
for loans to their most favored commercial cus-
tomers, as published in the Wall Street Journal
on the Friday immediately following the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(2) OTHER AGENCIES.—In the case of an agen-
cy described in subsection (a) that does not make an
election under subsection (a), interest shall accrue
on the outstanding balance of the amount of over-
payment at the rate described in the second sentence
of paragraph (1)(B).
(c) TERMINATION.—No election under subsection (a)
may be made for cost reporting periods, or portions of cost
reporting periods, beginning on or after the date of the
implementation of the prospective payment system for
home health services under section 1895 of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395fff).
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this sec-
tion shall take effect as if included in the enactment of
the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ADMINISTRATIVE BUR-
DENS ON MEDICARE HOME HEALTH AGEN-
CIES IN COMPLYING WITH OUTCOME AND AS-
SESSMENT INFORMATION SET (OASIS) RE-
QUIREMENT.
(a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services shall submit to Congress
and the Comptroller General of the United States a report
describing costs incurred by medicare home health agen-
cies in complying with the data collection requirement of
patients of such agencies under the Outcome and Assess-
ment Information Set (OASIS) standard as part of the
comprehensive assessment of patients.
(b) GAO AUDIT.—The Comptroller General of the
United States shall conduct an independent audit of the
costs described in subsection (a). Not later than 180 days
after receipt of the report under subsection (a), the Comp-
troller General shall submit to Congress a report describ-
ing the Comptroller General’s findings with respect to
such audit, and shall include comments on the report sub-
mitted to Congress by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services under subsection (a).
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) COMPREHENSIVE
ASSESSMENT
OF
PA-
TIENTS.—The term ‘‘comprehensive assessment of
patients’’ means the rule published by the Health
Care Financing Administration that requires, as a
condition of participation in the medicare program,
a home health agency to provide a patient-specific
comprehensive assessment that accurately reflects
the patient’s current status and that incorporates
the Outcome and Assessment Information Set
(OASIS).
(2) OUTCOME AND ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
SET.—The term ‘‘Outcome and Assessment Infor-
mation Set’’ means the standard provided under the
rule relating to data items that must be used in con-
ducting a comprehensive assessment of patients.
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF INCREMENTAL BILLING REQUIRE-
MENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1895(c)(2) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395fff(c)(2)) is amended by
striking ‘‘, as measured in 15 minute increments.’’ and
inserting a period.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) takes effect as if included in the enactment
of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–
33).
Æ