Title: Medicare Wage Index Parity Act of 2018
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Medicare Wage Index Parity Act of 2018
This bill provides statutory authority for, and extends, a specified methodology used to calculate the minimum Medicare hospital wage index for all-urban states.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3599 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3599

     To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to codify and 
   permanently extend the Medicare hospital wage index imputed rural 
                                 floor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 11, 2018

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Booker, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
 Coons, and Mr. Carper) 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 codify and 
   permanently extend the Medicare hospital wage index imputed rural 
                                 floor.

    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 ``Medicare Wage Index Parity Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. IMPUTED FLOOR ON THE AREA WAGE INDEX.

    Section 1886(d)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395ww(d)(3)(E)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
clause:
                            ``(iv) Floor on wage index for hospitals in 
                        all-urban states.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--For purposes of 
                                applying the area wage index applicable 
                                under this subparagraph, for discharges 
                                occurring on or after October 1, 2018, 
                                the Secretary shall establish a minimum 
                                wage index for all-urban States (as 
                                defined in subclause (IV)).
                                    ``(II) Minimum wage index.--For 
                                purposes of subclause (I), the minimum 
                                wage index for all-urban States shall 
                                be established by the Secretary using 
                                the methodology described in section 
                                412.64(h)(4) of title 42, Code of 
                                Federal Regulations, as in effect for 
                                fiscal year 2018.
                                    ``(III) Administration.--The 
                                Secretary shall administer the minimum 
                                wage index described in this clause in 
                                the same manner described in section 
                                3141 of Public Law 111-148 (through a 
                                uniform, national adjustment to the 
                                area wage index).
                                    ``(IV) All-urban state defined.--In 
                                this clause, the term `all-urban State' 
                                means a State in which there are no 
                                rural areas (as defined in subsection 
                                (d)(2)(D) of section 1886 of the Social 
                                Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                                1395ww(d)(2)(D))), or a State in which 
                                there are no hospitals classified as 
                                rural under such section.''.
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