I 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1804 
To provide for the certification of certain rehabilitation units of general 
acute care hospitals for purposes of payments under the Medicare pro-
spective payment system for rehabilitation hospitals. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2007 
Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide for the certification of certain rehabilitation units 
of general acute care hospitals for purposes of payments 
under the Medicare prospective payment system for reha-
bilitation hospitals. 
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 ‘‘Gulf States Medicare 
Rehabilitation Unit Access Act of 2007’’. 
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SEC. 2. CERTIFICATION OF CERTAIN REHABILITATION 
UNITS OF GENERAL ACUTE CARE HOSPITALS 
FOR PURPOSES OF MEDICARE PAYMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, in the case of a Katrina-affected hospital de-
scribed in subsection (b) that seeks a rehabilitation unit 
that is to be reopened (as described in subsection (b)(5)) 
to be treated as a rehabilitation unit (as referred to in 
the matter following clause (v) of section 1886(d)(1)(B) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B))) 
for purposes of subsections (d) and (j) of section 1886 
of the such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww), such hospital may 
provide a written certification that the inpatient popu-
lation the hospital intends the unit to serve meets the re-
quirements of section 412.23(b)(2) of title 42 Code of 
Federal Regulations, instead of showing that the unit has 
treated such a population during the hospital’s most re-
cent cost reporting period in the same manner as a hos-
pital that seeks exclusion of a new rehabilitation unit may 
provide such a certification under section 412.30(b) of 
such title. 
(b) KATRINA-AFFECTED HOSPITAL DESCRIBED.—A 
Katrina-affected hospital described in this subsection is a 
subsection (d) hospital, as such term is defined in section 
1886(d)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
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1395ww (d)(1)(B)), that meets each of the following re-
quirements: 
(1) HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY AREA.— 
The county (or equivalent area) in which the hos-
pital is located is an area that— 
(A) has been declared an emergency area 
in accordance with section 401 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) as a result of Hurri-
cane Katrina; and 
(B) the President has determined, as of 
September 14, 2005, warrants individual or 
public assistance from the Federal Government 
under such Act. 
(2) NOT FOR PROFIT STATUS.—The hospital is 
exempt from Federal income taxation in accordance 
with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986. 
(3) PRIOR
OPERATION
OF
REHABILITATION 
UNIT.—The hospital previously operated a rehabili-
tation unit (as referred to in the matter following 
clause (v) of section 1886(d)(1)(B) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B))) but later 
established a rehabilitation hospital (as defined for 
purposes of section 1886(d)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act 
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(42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(1)(B)(ii))), as of November 
1, 2006, operated such rehabilitation hospital within 
the same building occupied by the hospital, and 
upon opening such rehabilitation hospital or after 
opening such rehabilitation hospital, closed the reha-
bilitation unit. 
(4) SAME CORPORATE ENTITY.—The hospital 
and the rehabilitation hospital described in subpara-
graph (3) are owned by the same not for profit cor-
poration. 
(5) CONVERSION
OF
REHABILITATION
HOS-
PITAL TO UNIT.—The hospital seeks to reopen a re-
habilitation unit described in paragraph (3) that will 
operate as part of the hospital and certifies in writ-
ing to the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
that the hospital will close the rehabilitation hospital 
described in such paragraph not later than one 
month after the facility re-establishes the rehabilita-
tion unit. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of this section 
shall apply to reimbursements made for months beginning 
on or after the date of the enactment of this section. 
Æ 
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