Title: SPEEDY COVID-19 Tests Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Strictly Pay for Efficient and Expedited Delivery of Your COVID-19 Tests Act or the SPEEDY COVID-19 Tests Act
This bill establishes and otherwise modifies requirements relating to Medicare payments for specified laboratory diagnostic tests during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
In particular, the bill requires laboratories, as a condition of Medicare participation, to furnish COVID-19 test results to health care providers within 28 days of when the test was ordered. The bill also adjusts payments based on how quickly laboratories return test results. For example, the bill increases payments for laboratories that return test results within 24 hours, but prohibits payment for results that take 72 hours or longer.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8496 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8496

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise payment 
   amounts for results of COVID-19 PCR diagnostic panels, to require 
laboratories to furnish the results of such panels within 28 days as a 
  condition of participation under such title, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2020

  Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. 
  Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Engel, Ms. Norton, Mr. Suozzi, and Mr. 
 Danny K. Davis of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 revise payment 
   amounts for results of COVID-19 PCR diagnostic panels, to require 
laboratories to furnish the results of such panels within 28 days as a 
  condition of participation under such title, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Strictly Pay for Efficient and 
Expedited Delivery of Your COVID-19 Tests Act'' or the ``SPEEDY COVID-
19 Tests Act''.

SEC. 2. REVISION TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS FOR RESULTS OF COVID-19 PCR 
              DIAGNOSTIC PANELS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1834A of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395m-1) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(j) Payment for Delayed Results of COVID-19 PCR Diagnostic 
Panels.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of a clinical diagnostic 
        laboratory test that is the `CDC 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-
        nCoV) Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR Diagnostic 
        Panel', during the emergency period described in section 
        1135(g)(1)(B) beginning of the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection, subject to paragraph (2), if the laboratory 
        furnishes the result of such test to the physician or provider 
        of services from which such test was ordered--
                    ``(A) during the period that is not more than 24 
                hours after such test was so ordered, the amount of 
                payment for such test shall be 125 percent of the 
                amount of payment under this section on the date of the 
                enactment of this subsection;
                    ``(B) during the period that is more than 24 hours 
                and less than 48 hours after such test was so ordered, 
                the amount of payment for such test shall be 100 
                percent of the amount of payment under this section on 
                the date of the enactment of this subsection;
                    ``(C) during the period that is more than 48 hours 
                and less than 72 hours after such test was so ordered, 
                payment for such test shall be 100 percent of the 
                amount of payment under this section on the first date 
                of such emergency period; and
                    ``(D) during the period that is at least 72 hours 
                after such test was so ordered, payment may not be made 
                for such test under this section.
            ``(2) Exception for covid-19 pcr diagnostic panels 
        furnished in rural and medically underserved areas.--In the 
        case of a physician or provider of services that furnishes a 
        test described in paragraph (1) in a rural or medically 
        underserved area, for purposes of determining the applicable 
        period under such paragraph, the number of hours from which the 
        laboratory furnished the result of the test to the physician or 
        provider of services after such test was ordered shall be 
        reduced by 36 hours.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 1834A of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395m-1), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``Subject to 
                paragraph (3) and subsections (c) and (d)'' and 
                inserting ``Subject to paragraph (3) and subsections 
                (c), (d), and (j)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Payment'' and 
                inserting ``Subject to subsection (j), payment'';
            (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``subject to 
        subsection (j),'' before ``payment''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``subject to 
                subsection (j),'' before ``the payment amount''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Subject to 
                paragraph (4)'' and inserting ``Subject to paragraph 
                (4) and subsection (j)''.

SEC. 3. CONDITION OF PARTICIPATION FOR LABORATORIES TO FURNISH THE 
              RESULTS OF COVID-19 PCR DIAGNOSTIC PANELS WITHIN 28 DAYS.

    Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (Y)(ii)--
                    (A) in subclause (IV)(bb), by striking at the end 
                ``and''; and
                    (B) in subclause (V), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (Y)(ii)(V) the 
        following new subparagraph:
                    ``(Z) in the case of a laboratory that receives an 
                order from a physician or provider of services to 
                furnish the result of a test described in section 
                1834A(j)(1) during the emergency period described in 
                section 1135(g)(1)(B), to furnish the result to the 
                physician or provider of services from which such test 
                was ordered during the period that is 28 days after 
                such test was so ordered.''.
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