S.Amdt. 3258

SA 3258. Mrs. SHAHEEN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 2786 proposed by Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr.
Dodd, and Mr. Harkin) to the bill H.R. 3590, to amend the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the
case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal
employees, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

On page 869, between lines 14 and 15, insert the following:

SEC. 3143. FLOOR ON AREA WAGE INDEX.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, beginning with discharges occurring on or after October
1, 2009, for purposes of section 1886(d)(3)(E) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)(E)), the area wage index
applicable under such section to hospitals with Medicare
provider numbers 300001, 300003, 300005, 300011, 300012,
300014, 300017, 300018, 300019, 300020, 300023, 300029, and
300034 shall not be less than the post-reclassification area
wage index applicable to the hospital for purposes of
determining payments during the period beginning on or after
October 1, 2006, and before October 1, 2007.
(b) Implementation.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'')
shall make a proportional adjustment in the standardized
amounts determined under section 1886(d)(3) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)) to assure that the
provisions of this section do not result in aggregate
payments under section 1886 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww)
that are greater or less than those that would otherwise be
made. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for
purposes of making adjustments under this subsection, the
Secretary shall not further adjust the wage index or
standardized amounts for any area, State, or region within
the United States.

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