Rural Hospital Frontier Workforce Fairness Act

Bill: 116-hr-5103
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Peterson, Collin C. [D-MN-7]
Introduced: 2019-11-14
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions

Health personnel

Medicare

Wages and earnings
Latest action: action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-11-14
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Rural Hospital Frontier Workforce Fairness Act</b></p> <p>This bill alters the Medicare prospective payment system for inpatient hospital services furnished at sole community hospitals (i.e., rural hospitals or hospitals that are the sole source of inpatient care in a certain geographic area). Specifically, the bill applies a minimum area wage adjustment to payments to sole community hospitals that are located up to 75 miles from the closest frontier (i.e., predominantly rural) state. Currently, the minimum area wage adjustment applies only to hospitals in frontier states.</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5103 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 14, 2019 Mr. Peterson (for himself and Mr. Tipton ) 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 extend the floor on the area wage index under the inpatient prospective payment system to certain sole community hospitals.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Rural Hospital Frontier Workforce Fairness Act . 2. Extending floor on area wage index to certain sole community hospitals Section 1886(d)(3)(E)(iii) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)(E)(iii) ) is amended— (1) in subclause (I), by inserting before the period at the end the following: and, for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2019, the area wage index applicable under this subparagraph to any sole community hospital that is located not more than 75 miles from the closest frontier State and that makes an election under subclause (V) may not be less than 1.00 ; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subclause: (V) Sole community hospital election The Secretary shall provide for a process under which a sole community hospital described in subclause (I) may elect, at such time and in such manner as specified by the Secretary, to apply subclause (I) to such sole community hospital. .