Preserve Access to Medicare Rural Home Health Services Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2389
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2015-12-10
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care coverage and access

Home and outpatient care

Medicare

Rural conditions and development
Latest action: action_date: 2015-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S8604-8605)

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-12-10
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Preserve Access to Medicare Rural Home Health Services Act of 2015</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to extend through 2021 the rural add-on, which is a payment increase for Medicare home health services furnished to patients in rural areas.</p> <p>The&nbsp;bill also amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to lower, for FY2018-FY2022,&nbsp;the annual ceiling on the home health outlier adjustment, which&nbsp;is a payment increase&nbsp;for home health services furnished to the costliest Medicare beneficiaries, from 2.5% to 2.25% of the total Medicare payments projected to be made under the prospective payment system for home health services. (Under the Medicare prospective payment system, payment is made according to a predetermined, fixed amount.)</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2389 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 10, 2015 Ms. Collins (for herself and Ms. Cantwell ) 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 extend the rural add-on payment in the Medicare home health benefit, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Preserve Access to Medicare Rural Home Health Services Act of 2015 . 2. Extension of home health rural add-on (a) In general Section 421(a) of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 ( Public Law 108–173 ; 117 Stat. 2283), as amended by section 5201(b) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 ( Public Law 109–171 ; 120 Stat. 46), section 3131(c) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( Public Law 111–148 ; 124 Stat. 428), and section 210 of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 ( Public Law 114–10 ; 129 Stat. 87), is amended by striking January 1, 2018 each place it appears and inserting January 1, 2023 . (b) Revision of home health outlier adjustment Section 1895(b)(5)(A) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395fff(b)(5)(A) ) is amended in the second sentence by inserting (or, in the case of each of 2018 through 2022, 2.25 percent) after 2.5 percent .