Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2003

Bill: 108-hr-1675
Sponsor: Rep. Moran, Jerry [R-KS-1]
Introduced: 2003-04-08 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Ambulances
Ambulatory care
Authorization
Building construction
Capital investments
Case mix (Medical care)
Clinics
Community health services
Department of Health and Human Services
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Federal aid to health facilities
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government lending
Government trust funds
Hospital care
Hospital rates
Hospitals
Housing and Community Development
Interest rates
Labor and Employment
Land transfers
Maintenance and repair
Medical fees
Medical laboratories
Medical tests
Medicare
Nurse practitioners
Nurses
Physicians
Physicians' assistants
Revolving funds
Rural health
Social Welfare
Subsidies
Transportation and Public Works
Wages

Summary:
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make a variety of changes with regard to rural health care and such matters as: (1) urban and rural standardized payment amounts under the Medicare inpatient hospital prospective payment system (PPS); (2) disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment for rural hospitals; (3) adjustment to the Medicare inpatient hospital PPS wage index to revise the labor-related share of such index; (4) treatment of certain sole community hospitals to limit the decline in payment under the PPS for hospital outpatient department services; (5) the critical access hospital program; and (6) permanent treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to give the Secretary the authority to make and guarantee loans from the loan fund to any rural entity for projects for capital improvements.
Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a five-year extension of the authorization for appropriations for certain Medicare rural grants.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-04-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
action_date: 2003-04-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 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.
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-04-08
text: Introduced in House