with respect to the provision of post-hospital extended care 
services under part A of title XVIII of the Social Security 
Act, there shall be included information on the number of 
days of coverage of such services remaining under such part 
for the medicare beneficiary and spell of illness involved. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply to 
notices provided during calendar quarters beginning more 
than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 306. INFORMATION ON MEDICARE-CERTIFIED SKILLED 
NURSING 
FACILITIES 
IN 
HOSPITAL 
DIS-
CHARGE PLANS. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—The Secretary shall pub-
licly provide information that enables hospital discharge 
planners, medicare beneficiaries, and the public to identify 
skilled nursing facilities that are participating in the medi-
care program. 
(b) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN CERTAIN HOS-
PITAL DISCHARGE PLANS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 1861(ee)(2)(D) (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(ee)(2)(D)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘hospice services’’ and in-
serting ‘‘hospice care and post-hospital extended 
care services’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the end 
the following: ‘‘and, in the case of individuals
who are likely to need post-hospital extended care 
services, the availability of such services through 
facilities that participate in the program under 
this title and that serve the area in which the 
patient resides’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply to discharge plans made 
on or after such date as the Secretary shall specify, 
but not later than 6 months after the date the Sec-
retary provides for availability of information under 
subsection (a). 
TITLE IV—APPEALS AND 
RECOVERY 
SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR MEDICARE 
APPEALS. 
(a) TRANSITION PLAN.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 
2004, the Commissioner of Social Security and the 
Secretary shall develop and transmit to Congress and 
the Comptroller General of the United States a plan 
under which the functions of administrative law 
judges responsible for hearing cases under title XVIII 
of the Social Security Act (and related provisions in 
title XI of such Act) are transferred from the responsi-
bility of the Commissioner and the Social Security
Administration to the Secretary and the Department 
of Health and Human Services. 
(2) GAO EVALUATION.—The Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States shall evaluate the plan and, 
not later than the date that is 6 months after the date 
on which the plan is received by the Comptroller Gen-
eral, shall submit to Congress a report on such eval-
uation. 
(b) TRANSFER OF ADJUDICATION AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than July 1, 2005, 
and not later than October 1, 2005, the Commissioner 
of Social Security and the Secretary shall implement 
the transition plan under subsection (a) and transfer 
the administrative law judge functions described in 
such subsection from the Social Security Administra-
tion to the Secretary. 
(2) ASSURING INDEPENDENCE OF JUDGES.—The 
Secretary shall assure the independence of adminis-
trative law judges performing the administrative law 
judge functions transferred under paragraph (1) from 
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and its 
contractors. In order to assure such independence, the 
Secretary shall place such judges in an administra-
tive office that is organizationally and functionally 
separate from such Centers. Such judges shall report
to, and be under the general supervision of, the Sec-
retary (or, to the extent the Secretary delegates such 
authority, the officer next in rank below the Sec-
retary), but shall not report to, or be subject to super-
vision by, any other officer of the Department. 
(3) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 
shall provide for an appropriate geographic distribu-
tion of administrative law judges performing the ad-
ministrative law judge functions transferred under 
paragraph (1) throughout the United States to ensure 
timely access to such judges. 
(4) HIRING AUTHORITY.—Subject to the amounts 
provided in advance in appropriations Act, the Sec-
retary shall have authority to hire administrative law 
judges to hear such cases, giving priority to those 
judges with prior experience in handling medicare 
appeals and in a manner consistent with paragraph 
(3), and to hire support staff for such judges. 
(5) FINANCING.—Amounts payable under law to 
the Commissioner for administrative law judges per-
forming the administrative law judge functions trans-
ferred under paragraph (1) from the Federal Hospital 
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supple-
mentary Medical Insurance Trust Fund shall become
payable to the Secretary for the functions so trans-
ferred. 
(6) SHARED RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall 
enter into such arrangements with the Commissioner 
as may be appropriate with respect to transferred 
functions of administrative law judges to share office 
space, support staff, and other resources, with appro-
priate reimbursement from the Trust Funds described 
in paragraph (5). 
(c) INCREASED FINANCIAL SUPPORT.—In addition to 
any amounts otherwise appropriated, to ensure timely ac-
tion on appeals before administrative law judges and the 
Departmental Appeals Board consistent with section 1869 
of the Social Security Act (as amended by section 521 of 
BIPA, 114 Stat. 2763A–534), there are authorized to be ap-
propriated (in appropriate part from the Federal Hospital 
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary 
Medical Insurance Trust Fund) to the Secretary such sums 
as are necessary for fiscal year 2005 and each subsequent 
fiscal year to—
(1) increase the number of administrative law 
judges (and their staffs) under subsection (b)(4); 
(2) improve education and training opportuni-
ties for administrative law judges (and their staffs); 
and
(3) increase the staff of the Departmental Ap-
peals Board. 
(d) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
1869(f)(2)(A)(i) (42 U.S.C. 1395ff(f)(2)(A)(i)), as added by 
section 522(a) of BIPA (114 Stat. 2763A–543), is amended 
by striking ‘‘of the Social Security Administration’’. 
SEC. 402. PROCESS FOR EXPEDITED ACCESS TO REVIEW. 
(a) EXPEDITED ACCESS TO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Sec-
tion 1869(b) (42 U.S.C. 1395ff(b)) as amended by BIPA, 
is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, subject 
to paragraph (2),’’ before ‘‘to judicial review of the 
Secretary’s final decision’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1)(F)—
(A) by striking clause (ii); 
(B) by striking ‘‘PROCEEDING’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘DETERMINATION’’ and inserting 
‘‘DETERMINATIONS
AND
RECONSIDERATIONS’’; 
and 
(C) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) 
as clauses (i) and (ii) and by moving the inden-
tation of such subclauses (and the matter that 
follows) 2 ems to the left; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: