Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to additional payments to subsection (d) hospitals for indirect costs of medical education (IME).
Declares that, if a subsection (d) hospital (new hospital) begins operations on or after January 1, 2010, within 35 road miles of an existing sole community hospital, the existing hospital shall continue to be treated for payment purposes as a sole community hospital if: (1) the new hospital is privately owned or operated as a for-profit entity; and (2) a portion of the new hospital's ownership is attributable to physicians.
(Generally, a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)