To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a geographic adjustment in the Medicare cap on payment for hospice care and to require hospice programs to report comprehensive data on hospice care.

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a geographic adjustment in the Medicare hospice payment cap, increasing the work geographic index to 1.00 for any locality for which such index is less than 1.00.

Requires hospice programs to report comprehensive data on hospice care.

[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 6158 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6158

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 
 geographic adjustment in the Medicare cap on payment for hospice care 
and to require hospice programs to report comprehensive data on hospice 
                                 care.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2008

 Mr. Meek of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 
 geographic adjustment in the Medicare cap on payment for hospice care 
and to require hospice programs to report comprehensive data on hospice 
                                 care.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MEDICARE HOSPICE PAYMENTS AND DATA REPORTING.

    (a) Geographic Adjustment in the Medicare Hospice Payment Cap.--
Paragraph (2)(B) of section 1814(i) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395f(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``For 
accounting years beginning on or after October 1, 2008, the Secretary 
shall adjust the `cap amount' using the same geographic index, in the 
same manner, as is used to determine payment rates for hospice care, 
except that in applying the work geographic index, the Secretary shall 
increase the index to 1.00 for any locality for which such index is 
less than 1.00.''.
    (b) Submission of Comprehensive Data on Hospice Care.--
            (1) In general.--Paragraph (3) of such section is amended 
        by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary shall 
        expand such data to include comprehensive data that reflect the 
        number, type, and length of services provided to beneficiaries 
        by all members of the hospice interdisciplinary group and by 
        all hospice employees and volunteers, taking into account the 
        unique features of the hospice benefit, including the focus on 
        palliative care and the interdisciplinary team approach to 
        providing care to beneficiaries and their families.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services may not require the submission by hospice programs of 
        comprehensive data under the amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        before January 1, 2009.
            (3) Relation to change request 5567.--The reporting of 
        comprehensive data under such amendment shall supercede any 
        requirement for the reporting of an expanded level of claims 
        data under Change Request 5567.
                                 <all>