Title: Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Medicare Stability for Patients and Providers Act
This bill prohibits the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing the clinical labor price updates in a specified rule that was issued on November 19, 2021, relating to the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2022. The CMS must also analyze and report on information relating to the physician fee schedule in general, including whether it has accurately reflected medical inflation or should be reformed.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6048 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6048

  To prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from taking 
certain actions with respect to the clinical labor price, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2021

Mr. Rush (for himself and Mr. Bilirakis) 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 prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from taking 
certain actions with respect to the clinical labor price, 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 ``Medicare Stability for Patients and 
Providers Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITING IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN LABOR PRICE UPDATES UNDER 
              THE 2022 PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE; REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall maintain clinical labor 
prices under the 2022 physician fee schedule and not take any action to 
implement, finalize, or enforce the clinical labor price updates of the 
final rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on 
November 19, 2021, entitled ``Medicare Program; CY 2022 Payment 
Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B 
Payment Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; 
Provider Enrollment Regulation Updates; Provider and Supplier 
Prepayment and Post-Payment Medical Review Requirements''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
submit to Congress a report on the physician fee schedule under the 
Medicare program under section 1848 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395w-4), including--
            (1) an analysis of provider reimbursement under such 
        physician fee schedule and whether or not such reimbursement 
        has sufficiently taken into account medical inflation over the 
        last 20 years;
            (2) an analysis of whether significant annual changes in 
        provider reimbursement are a cause of site-of-service migration 
        and disruptions in patient access and cost-sharing; and
            (3) based on paragraphs (1) and (2), recommendations for 
        reforming such fee schedule to minimize significant annual 
        changes in provider reimbursement and appropriately account for 
        inflation updates.
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