S 816 · 108th Congress 2003–2005, ended

Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2003

Introduced Apr 8, 2003 Originated Senate Sponsor Kent Conrad D-ND

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Apr 8, 2003 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedApr 8, 2003
  2. Passed SenateNot reached
  3. Passed HouseNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

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) payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals; (4) adjustment to the Medicare inpatient hospital PPS wage index to revise the labor-related share of such index; (5) treatment of certain sole community hospitals to limit the decline in payment under the PPS for hospital outpatient department services; (6) the critical access hospital program; and (7) permanent treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish and use alternative guidelines for geographic reclassification of certain hospitals located in sparsely populated States.

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.

Cosponsors 34

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 8, 2003 to Oct 22, 2003; 25 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-ARBlanche L. LincolnOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-NDByron L. DorganOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-MICarl LevinOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MOChristopher S. BondOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-IAChuck GrassleyOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MTConrad R. BurnsOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-WYCraig ThomasOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-ORGordon H. SmithOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-VTJames M. JeffordsOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-NMJeff BingamanOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MOJim TalentOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-WVJohn D. Rockefeller IVOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-NCJohn EdwardsOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-WAMaria CantwellOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-MNMark DaytonOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-ARMark L. PryorOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MNNorm ColemanOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MEOlympia J. SnoweOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-KSPat RobertsOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-WAPatty MurrayOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-NMPete V. DomeniciOriginalApr 8, 2003
R-MSThad CochranOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-SDThomas A. DaschleOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-SDTim JohnsonOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-IATom HarkinOriginalApr 8, 2003
D-VTPatrick J. LeahyApr 9, 2003
D-HIDaniel K. InouyeApr 10, 2003
R-OKJames M. InhofeApr 11, 2003
D-MIDebbie StabenowApr 28, 2003
R-MESusan M. CollinsApr 28, 2003
R-NEChuck HagelApr 29, 2003
R-WYMichael B. EnziJun 2, 2003
R-IDMike CrapoJun 4, 2003
R-VAJohn WarnerOct 22, 2003

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
SenateFinance Committee
Referred Apr 8, 2003

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Apr 8, 2003Introduced in Senate
  2. Apr 8, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4962-4963)
  3. Apr 8, 2003Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S4962, S4963Craig Thomas R-WY, Kent Conrad D-NDApr 8, 2003

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

NumberHearingCommitteeHeld
S. Hrg. 108-229ENHANCING MEDICARE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: A PRESCRIPTION BENEFIT FOR SENIORS48 pagesAging (Special) CommitteeAug 27, 2003

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to protect and preserve access of medicare beneficiaries to health care provided by hospitals in rural areas, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced
Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2003

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Apr 8, 2003Introduced in Senate

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.