H.R. 5273 · 114th Congress
Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016
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Passed the House without a recorded vote, then expired. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, which don't record how each member voted, but didn't become law before the 114th Congress ended.
R
TiberiSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 D
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
- House Introduced May 18, 2016
- House Passed Jun 7, 2016
What it does: CRS summary · Passed House amended · Jun 7, 2016
Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016
TITLE I--PROVISIONS RELATING TO MEDICARE PART A
(Sec. 101) The bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop, with respect to claims for hospital services, codes under the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) for similar inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
(Sec. 102) The bill establishes processes for adjusting a hospital's Medicare payments based on the hospital's overall proportion of inpatients who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
(Sec. 103) The bill extends for five years the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program, through which Medicare pays certain rural hospitals on the basis of reasonable incurred costs rather than under the standard prospective payment system.
(Sec. 104) With respect to long-term care hospitals, the bill lifts a moratorium on bed increases. The bill reduces rates for high-cost outlier payments, which are additional Medicare payments made in extraordinarily high-cost cases.
(Sec. 105) The bill reduces the amount by which hospital payment rates for inpatient services increase in FY2018.
TITLE II--PROVISIONS RELATING TO MEDICARE PART B
(Sec. 201) The bill excludes certain off-campus outpatient departments (OPDs) from specified rules that mandate lower Medicare payments. Specifically, the exclusion applies to: (1) cancer hospitals in off-campus OPDs, and (2) mid-build OPDs. A "mid-build" OPD is one for which the provider had, before a certain date, a binding written agreement with an outside party for construction.
(Sec. 203) With respect to payment reductions for failing to meet requirements for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs), the bill exempts eligible professionals who are based in ambulatory surgical centers.
TITLE III--OTHER MEDICARE PROVISIONS
(Sec. 301) Until plan year 2019, CMS may not terminate an MA plan solely because the plan failed to achieve a specified minimum quality rating.
(Sec. 302) CMS must annually report on Medicare enrollment data, as specified by the bill.
(Sec. 303) CMS shall: (1) request information and recommendations from stakeholders on information included in the Welcome to Medicare package, and (2) update the information included in the package accordingly.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016
Latest action (Jun 8, 2016): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy area: Health · Origin: House · Introduced: May 18, 2016
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
- House Introduced May 18, 2016
- House Passed Jun 7, 2016
No recorded floor vote found.