Title: Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment under Medicare for certain services furnished to hospice patients by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).
With respect to a patient who elects to receive hospice care under Medicare, current law generally limits payment for services that are either duplicative of such care or related to the treatment of the individual's terminal illness. However, current law exempts from this limitation: (1) physicians' services furnished by an attending physician not employed by the hospice program; and (2) services provided or arranged by the hospice program.
The bill expands this exemption with regard to rural health clinic and FQHC services. Specifically, the payment limitation shall not apply to such services that: (1) would otherwise be physicians' services if furnished by an individual unaffiliated with a rural health clinic or FQHC; and (2) are either arranged by the hospice program or furnished by an attending physician not employed by the hospice program.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 980 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 980

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for payments 
 for certain rural health clinic and Federally qualified health center 
   services furnished to hospice patients under the Medicare program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2017

     Mrs. Capito (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Franken, and Mrs. 
  Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for payments 
 for certain rural health clinic and Federally qualified health center 
   services furnished to hospice patients under the Medicare program.

    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 ``Rural Access to Hospice Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. MEDICARE PAYMENT FOR CERTAIN RURAL HEALTH CLINIC AND FEDERALLY 
              QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER SERVICES FURNISHED TO HOSPICE 
              PATIENTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1812(d)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395d(d)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
                ``subparagraphs (B) and (C)'' and inserting ``the 
                succeeding provisions of this paragraph'';
                    (B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the semicolon 
                at the end and inserting a period; and
                    (C) by striking the flush matter following clause 
                (ii)(II); and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(E) Subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply to--
                    ``(i) physicians' services furnished by the 
                individual's attending physician (as defined in section 
                1861(dd)(3)(B)), if not an employee of the hospice 
                program;
                    ``(ii) services provided by (or under arrangements 
                made by) the hospice program; or
                    ``(iii) rural health clinic services (as defined in 
                paragraph (1) of section 1861(aa)) and Federally 
                qualified health center services (as defined in 
                paragraph (3) of such section) if such services--
                            ``(I) would otherwise be physicians' 
                        services if furnished by an individual not 
                        affiliated with a rural health clinic (as 
                        defined in paragraph (2) of such section) or a 
                        Federally qualified health center (as defined 
                        in paragraph (4) of such section); and
                            ``(II) are--
                                    ``(aa) furnished by the 
                                individual's attending physician (as so 
                                defined), if not an employee of the 
                                hospice program; or
                                    ``(bb) provided under arrangements 
                                made by the hospice program.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to services furnished on or after the date that is six months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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