Save Rural Hospitals Act
Latest action · Aug 5, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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.
- IntroducedJul 27, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Save Rural Hospitals Act
This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to increase payments to, and modify various requirements regarding, rural health care providers under the Medicare program. Among other provisions, the bill: (1) reverses cuts to reimbursement of bad debt for critical access hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals, as well as alters certain requirements with regard to CAHs; (2) extends payment levels for low-volume hospitals and Medicare-dependent hospitals (MDHs); (3) reinstates revised diagnosis-related group payments to MDHs and sole community hospitals (SCHs), as well as reinstates hold harmless treatment for hospital outpatient services for SCHs; (4) delays the application of penalties for a rural hospital's failure to become a meaningful electronic health record user; (5) makes permanent increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services in rural areas; (6) alters certain supervision requirements for therapeutic hospital outpatient services; (7) modifies requirements related to the use and payment of recovery audit contractors; and (8) establishes a program under which rural hospitals meeting specified requirements may be eligible for enhanced payment for qualified outpatient services.
In addition, the bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to eliminate Medicare sequestration for rural hospitals.
The bill also amends title XIX (Medicaid) of SSAct to extend Medicaid primary care payments.
With respect to both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the bill eliminates disproportionate share hospital payment reductions for rural hospitals.
The bill also amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize several competitive grant programs to assist eligible rural hospitals.Cosponsors 34
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 27, 2015 to May 31, 2016, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Original | Jul 27, 2015 |
| R-WI | Glenn Grothman | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| R-UT | Chris Stewart | Sep 28, 2015 | |
| R-IA | David Young | Sep 30, 2015 | |
| D-WI | Ron Kind | Oct 2, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Mac Thornberry | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Collin C. Peterson | Oct 22, 2015 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Oct 28, 2015 | |
| D-AZ | Ann Kirkpatrick | Nov 5, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Blake Farenthold | Nov 16, 2015 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Nov 16, 2015 | |
| R-TX | Randy Neugebauer | Nov 16, 2015 | |
| R-WI | Reid J. Ribble | Nov 17, 2015 | |
| R-LA | Ralph Lee Abraham | Nov 18, 2015 | |
| D-MN | Timothy J. Walz | Nov 18, 2015 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 5, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jul 31, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jul 27, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 27, 2015Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 257 | Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act | Related bill | Jan 27, 2015 |
| HR 1611 | Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act | Related bill | Apr 7, 2015 |
| HR 2156 | Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 | Related bill | May 18, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advisory bodies
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Debt collection
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Health
- Health care coverage and access
- Health personnel
- Home and outpatient care
- Hospital care
- Medicare
- Public contracts and procurement
- Rural conditions and development
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 27, 2015Introduced in House
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.