Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exempt from the cap on payments for hospice care any care furnished on or after November 1, 2004, under the Medicare program by a qualified hospice program.
Qualifies a hospice program under this Act if: (1) at least 50% of the shares of its common stock are owned by a minority individual or group of minority individuals (African-Americans, American Indians, Asian-Americans, or Latin-Americans), and (2) at least 75% of the individuals electing to participate in the program reside in a county or parish half of whose population consists of minority individuals or for which the average per capita income is the lowest quantile of counties in the state in which the hospice program is located.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to recalculate and reconcile payments under part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program for qualified hospice care furnished between November 1, 2004, and the date of enactment of this Act if the current cap was applied.