Title: ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish additional requirements for assigning Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare shared savings program. Under current law, the program enables ACOs to receive payments for savings stemming from care coordination and management.
The bill requires the basis for assignment to reflect beneficiaries' utilization of not only primary care services provided by ACO physicians, but also those provided by other ACO practitioners. Other ACO practitioners include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, and registered dieticians or nutrition professionals.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1160 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1160

  To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve the way 
beneficiaries are assigned under the Medicare shared savings program by 
also basing such assignment on primary care services furnished by nurse 
  practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

   Mr. Kilmer (for himself and Ms. Jenkins of Kansas) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
 and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 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 improve the way 
beneficiaries are assigned under the Medicare shared savings program by 
also basing such assignment on primary care services furnished by nurse 
  practitioners, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``ACO Assignment Improvement Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFICIARIES UNDER THE 
              MEDICARE SHARED SAVINGS PROGRAM.

    Section 1899(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395jjj(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) in the case of performance years beginning on or 
        after January 1, 2019, primary care services provided under 
        this title by an ACO professional described in subsection 
        (h)(1)(B).''.
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