(G) The matter in section 1842(b)(7)(A) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(7)(A)) preceding clause (i) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘the carrier’’ and inserting ‘‘a carrier’’.
(H) The matter in section 1842(b)(11)(A) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(11)(A)) preceding clause (i) is
amended by inserting ‘‘(as appropriate)’’ after ‘‘each car-
rier’’.
(I) The first sentence of section 1842(h)(2) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(h)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(as
appropriate)’’ after ‘‘shall’’.
(J) Section 1842(h)(5)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395u(h)(5)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(as appro-
priate)’’ after ‘‘carriers’’.
(7)(A) Section 1816(c)(2)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395h(c)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘hospital, rural
primary care hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health
agency, hospice program, comprehensive outpatient reha-
bilitation facility, or rehabilitation agency’’ and inserting
‘‘provider of services’’.
(B) The matter in section 1816(j) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 1395h(j)) preceding paragraph (1) is amended by
striking ‘‘for home health services, extended care services,
or post-hospital extended care services’’.
(8) Section 1842(a)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395u(a)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(to and from indi-
viduals enrolled under this part and to and from physi-
cians and other entities that furnish items and services)’’
after ‘‘communication’’.
(9) The matter in section 1842(a) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 1395u(a)) preceding paragraph (1), as amended
by subsection (b)(4)(M), is amended by striking ‘‘carriers
with which contracts’’ and inserting ‘‘single contracts
under section 1816 and this section together, or separate
contracts with eligible agencies and organizations with
which contracts’’.
(c) ELIMINATION OF SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TER-
MINATIONS OF CONTRACTS.—(1) Section 1816 of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395h) is amended—
(A) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or renew’’;
(B) in the last sentence of subsection (c)(1), by
striking ‘‘or renewing’’;
(C) in subsection (f)(1) by striking ‘‘, renew, or
terminate’’ and ‘‘, whether the Secretary should as-
sign or reassign a provider of services to an agency
or organization,’’; and
(D) by striking subsection (g).
(2) The last sentence of section 1842(b)(2)(A) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(2)(A)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘or renewing’’.
(3) Section 1842(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395u(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (5).
(d) REPEAL OF FISCAL INTERMEDIARY REQUIRE-
MENTS
THAT
ARE
NOT
COST-EFFECTIVE.—Section
1816(f)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395h(f)(2)) is amend-
ed to read as follows:
‘‘(2) The contract performance requirements devel-
oped under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to
claims for services furnished under this part by any pro-
vider of services other than a hospital, whether such agen-
cy or organization is able to process 75 percent of recon-
siderations within 60 days and 90 percent of reconsider-
ations within 90 days.’’.
(e) REPEAL OF COST REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRE-
MENTS.—(1) The first sentence of section 1816(c)(1) of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395h(c)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking the comma after ‘‘appropriate’’
and inserting ‘‘and’’;
(B) by striking all that follows ‘‘subsection (a)’’
up to the period; and
(C) by striking the second and third sentences.
(2) The first sentence of section 1842(c)(1) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(c)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘shall provide’’ the first place it
appears and inserting ‘‘may provide’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘this part’’ and all that follows
up to the period; and
(C) by striking the second and third sentences.
(3) Section 2326(a) of the Deficit Reduction Act of
1984 is repealed.
(f) COMPETITION REQUIRED FOR NEW CONTRACTS
AND IN CASES OF POOR PERFORMANCE.—(1) Section
1816(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395h(c)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4)(A) A contract with a fiscal intermediary under
this section may be renewed from term to term without
regard to any provision of law requiring competition if the
fiscal intermediary has met or exceeded the performance
requirements established in the current contract.
‘‘(B) Functions may be transferred among fiscal
intermediaries without regard to any provision of law re-
quiring competition.’’.
(2) Section 1842(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395u(b)) is amended by striking everything before para-
graph (2) and inserting the following:
‘‘(b)(1)(A) A contract with a carrier under subsection
(a) may be renewed from term to term without regard to
any provision of law requiring competition if the carrier
has met or exceeded the performance requirements estab-
lished in the current contract.
‘‘(B) Functions may be transferred among carriers
without regard to any provision of law requiring competi-
tion.’’.
(g) WAIVER OF COMPETITIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR
INITIAL CONTRACTS.—(1) Contracts whose periods begin
during the 1-year period that begins on the first day of
the fourth calendar month that begins after the date of
the enactment of this Act may be entered into under sec-
tion 1816(a) of the Social Security Act without regard to
any provision of law requiring competition.
(2) The amendments made by subsection (f) apply
to contracts whose periods begin after the end of the 1-
year period specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(h) YEAR 2000 COMPLIANCE.—
(1) FOR FISCAL INTERMEDIARIES.—Paragraph
(2) of section 1816(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1395h(f)), as amended by subsection (d), is amend-
ed—
(A) by striking ‘‘shall include,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘shall include—’’;
(B) by designating the remainder of such
paragraph as subparagraph (A) and indenting
it accordingly;
(C) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(B) a requirement that, by such time as
the Secretary considers reasonable, the informa-
tion technology that is used or acquired by the
agency or organization to carry out its respon-
sibilities under this title (to the extent that the
Secretary finds such information technology is
under the control of such agency or organiza-
tion)—
‘‘(i) meets the definition of ‘Year
2000 compliant’ under the Federal Acqui-
sition Regulation (concerning accurate
processing of date/time data (including cal-
culating, comparing, and sequencing) from,
into, and between the twentieth and twen-
ty-first centuries, and the years 1999 and
2000 and leap year calculations) but with-
out regard to whether the information
technology is being acquired; and
‘‘(ii) meets such other criteria for year
2000 compliance as the Secretary consid-
ers appropriate.’’.
(2) CARRIERS.—Section 1842(b)(2)(A) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u(b)(2)(A)) is amended in the