[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
1st Session
S. 1779
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for fairness
in the provision of medicare services for Indians.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 23, 2003
Mr. Bingaman (for himself, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Daschle, Mrs. Murray, Mr.
Dayton, Mr. Johnson, Ms. Cantwell, and Ms. Stabenow) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for fairness
in the provision of medicare services for Indians.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Indian Health Fairness Act
of 2003''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR ALL MEDICARE PART B SERVICES
FURNISHED BY CERTAIN INDIAN HOSPITALS AND CLINICS.
(a) In General.--Section 1880(e) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395qq(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``for services
described in paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``for all items and
services for which payment may be made under such part'';
(2) by striking paragraph (2); and
(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to items and services furnished on or after the first day of the
sixth month beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CHARGES FOR INPATIENT HOSPITAL CONTRACT HEALTH
SERVICES PROVIDED TO INDIANS BY MEDICARE PARTICIPATING
HOSPITALS.
(a) In General.--Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (R), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (S), by striking the period and
inserting ``, and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(T) in the case of hospitals which furnish
inpatient hospital services for which payment may be
made under this title, to be a participating provider
of medical care--
``(i) under the contract health services
program funded by the Indian Health Service and
operated by the Indian Health Service, an
Indian tribe, or tribal organization (as those
terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act), with respect to
items and services that are covered under such
program and furnished to an individual eligible
for such items and services under such program;
and
``(ii) under a program funded by the Indian
Health Service and operated by an urban Indian
organization with respect to the purchase of
items and services for an eligible urban Indian
(as those terms are defined in such section 4),
in accordance with regulations promulgated by the
Secretary regarding admission practices, payment
methodology, and rates of payment (including the
acceptance of no more than such payment rate as payment
in full for such items and services).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply as of a date specified by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (but in no case later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act) to medicare participation agreements in effect
(or entered into) on or after such date.
SEC. 4. EQUAL PAYMENTS FOR CLINICS IN THE INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE
SUPPORTED HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Section 1880 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395qq) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsection:
``(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of
determining the rate of reimbursement for items and services under this
title, any outpatient or ambulatory care clinic (whether freestanding
or provider-based) operated by the Indian Health Service, an Indian
tribe, a tribal organization, or an urban Indian organization (as those
terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act), shall, upon the election of such clinic, be reimbursed on the
same basis as if such clinic were a hospital outpatient department of
the Indian Health Service.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to items and services furnished on or after the first day of the
sixth month beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.
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