Title: Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2019
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2019
This bill allows federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health centers (RHCs) to receive payment under Medicare for hospice services. Currently, attending physicians who work for FQHCs and RHCs may provide hospice services only outside of FQHC or RHC work hours and must bill Medicare under their own provider numbers; FQHCs and RHCs may not receive payment under Medicare for such services.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2594 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2594

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 8, 2019

Mr. Kind (for himself and Mrs. Walorski) 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 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 
2019''.

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

    Section 1834 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (o), by adding at the end the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(4) Payment for attending physician services furnished by 
        federally qualified health centers to hospice patients.--In the 
        case of services described in section 1812(d)(2)(A)(ii) 
        furnished on or after January 1, 2020, by an attending 
        physician (as defined in section 1861(dd)(3)(B), other than a 
        physician or practitioner who is employed by a hospice program) 
        who is employed by or working under contract with a Federally 
        qualified health center, a Federally qualified health center 
        shall be paid for such services under the prospective payment 
        system under this subsection.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(x) Payment for Attending Physician Services Furnished by Rural 
Health Clinics to Hospice Patients.--In the case of services described 
in section 1812(d)(2)(A)(ii) furnished on or after January 1, 2020, by 
an attending physician (as defined in section 1861(dd)(3)(B), other 
than a physician or practitioner who is employed by a hospice program) 
who is employed by or working under contract with a rural health 
clinic, a rural health clinic shall be paid for such services under the 
methodology for all-inclusive rates (established by the Secretary) 
under section 1833(a)(3), subject to the limits described in section 
1833(f).''.
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