Title: Saving Rural Hospitals from Closure Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Saving Rural Hospitals from Closure Act
This bill modifies requirements for the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The program provides Medicare payments in advance to eligible providers experiencing claims or cash flow disruptions, such as during national emergencies; the program was specifically expanded in response to COVID-19 to encompass more types of providers, subject to certain recoupment and repayment provisions.
The bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to forgive repayment, extend the recoupment timeline, and lower applicable interest rates for hospitals experiencing significant financial hardship (e.g., impending bankruptcy).

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7759 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7759

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to forgive the repayment, extend 
  the timeline of repayment, and lower the interest rate of Medicare 
 hospital accelerated payments made during the COVID-19 public health 
                   emergency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2020

  Mr. Smith of Missouri (for himself, Mr. McKinley, Mrs. Miller, Mr. 
Long, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Westerman, Mr. David P. Roe of Tennessee, and 
 Mr. Fortenberry) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to authorize the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to forgive the repayment, extend 
  the timeline of repayment, and lower the interest rate of Medicare 
 hospital accelerated payments made during the COVID-19 public health 
                   emergency, 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 ``Saving Rural Hospitals from Closure 
Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZING THE FORGIVENESS OF REPAYMENT, EXTENSION OF 
              REPAYMENT, AND LOWERING OF INTEREST RATE OF MEDICARE 
              HOSPITAL ACCELERATED PAYMENTS MADE DURING THE COVID-19 
              PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

    Section 1815 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395g) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (d), by inserting ``subject to subsection 
        (f)(5),'' after ``determination,''; and
            (2) in subsection (f)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``subject to 
                paragraph (5),'' before ``the Secretary''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(5)(A) Upon the request of a hospital, the Secretary may 
        forgive the repayment, extend the timeline of repayment 
        described in subparagraph (C)(i), and lower the interest rate 
        of any accelerated payment within 30 days of receiving such 
        request if such a hospital experiences significant financial 
        hardship.
            ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), `significant 
        financial hardship' means, with respect to a hospital, the 
        existence of a serious chance of closure, impending bankruptcy, 
        large-scale layoffs, or any other situation the Secretary 
        determines appropriate.''.
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