Title: Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2019
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2019
This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility services.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 753 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 753

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to count a period of 
    receipt of outpatient observation services in a hospital toward 
  satisfying the 3-day inpatient hospital requirement for coverage of 
           skilled nursing facility services under Medicare.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2019

 Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
King, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Reed, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Coons, Ms. 
 Hassan, Ms. Harris, Mr. Peters, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Smith, 
  Mr. Markey, Ms. Stabenow, and Ms. Warren) 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 count a period of 
    receipt of outpatient observation services in a hospital toward 
  satisfying the 3-day inpatient hospital requirement for coverage of 
           skilled nursing facility services under Medicare.

    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 ``Improving Access to Medicare 
Coverage Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. COUNTING A PERIOD OF RECEIPT OF OUTPATIENT OBSERVATION SERVICES 
              IN A HOSPITAL TOWARD THE 3-DAY INPATIENT HOSPITAL 
              REQUIREMENT FOR COVERAGE OF SKILLED NURSING FACILITY 
              SERVICES UNDER MEDICARE.

    (a) In General.--Section 1861(i) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395x(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``For 
purposes of this subsection, an individual receiving outpatient 
observation services shall be deemed to be an inpatient during such 
period, and the date such individual ceases receiving such services 
shall be deemed the hospital discharge date (unless such individual is 
admitted as a hospital inpatient at the end of such period).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to receipt of outpatient observation services beginning on or 
after January 1, 2019, but applies to a period of post-hospital 
extended care services that was completed before the date of the 
enactment of this Act only if an administrative appeal is or has been 
made with respect to such services not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may implement such 
amendment through an interim final regulation, program instruction, or 
otherwise.
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