Title: Increasing Hospital Capacity to Fight the Coronavirus Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Increasing Hospital Capacity to Fight the Coronavirus Act of 2020
This bill allows unapproved capital expenses that are made by health care facilities during the public health emergency declared on January 31, 2020, relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to be included in federal payment determinations under Medicare and Medicaid.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6336 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6336

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for a waiver of 
payment reductions under the Medicare and Medicaid programs for certain 
 nonapproved capital expenditures undertaken by health care facilities 
                     during the COVID-19 emergency.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2020

  Mr. Bishop of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Banks, and Mr. Budd) 
 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 XI of the Social Security Act to provide for a waiver of 
payment reductions under the Medicare and Medicaid programs for certain 
 nonapproved capital expenditures undertaken by health care facilities 
                     during the COVID-19 emergency.

    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 ``Increasing Hospital Capacity to 
Fight the Coronavirus Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING FOR A WAIVER OF PAYMENT REDUCTIONS UNDER THE MEDICARE 
              AND MEDICAID PROGRAMS FOR CERTAIN NONAPPROVED CAPITAL 
              EXPENDITURES UNDERTAKEN BY HEALTH CARE FACILITIES DURING 
              THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY.

    (a) In General.--Section 1122(d) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a-1(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or (3)'' after 
        ``paragraph (2)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) No payment reduction shall be made pursuant to paragraph (1) 
with respect to an obligation for a capital expenditure made during the 
emergency period defined in section 1135(g)(1)(B).''.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that any State 
requirement relating to the approval of capital expenditures of health 
care facilities located in such State (commonly referred to as 
``certificate of need laws'') should be waived for the duration of the 
emergency period defined in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)).
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