To permit pass-through payment for reasonable costs of certified registered nurse anesthetist services in critical access hospitals notwithstanding the reclassification of such hospitals as urban hospitals, including hospitals located in "Lugar counties", and for on-call and standby costs for such services.

Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, to treat a critical access hospital as rural, notwithstanding the reclassification of its location county as an urban county ("Lugar county") under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, in order to permit pass-through payment for the reasonable costs of certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) services.

Counts on-call and standby costs for such services as reasonable CRNA costs.

[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6146 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6146

   To permit pass-through payment for reasonable costs of certified 
  registered nurse anesthetist services in critical access hospitals 
    notwithstanding the reclassification of such hospitals as urban 
 hospitals, including hospitals located in ``Lugar counties'', and for 
              on-call and standby costs for such services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2012

 Mr. Hinojosa (for himself and Mr. Johnson of Illinois) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To permit pass-through payment for reasonable costs of certified 
  registered nurse anesthetist services in critical access hospitals 
    notwithstanding the reclassification of such hospitals as urban 
 hospitals, including hospitals located in ``Lugar counties'', and for 
              on-call and standby costs for such services.

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

SECTION 1. MEDICARE PASS-THROUGH PAYMENTS FOR CRNA SERVICES.

    (a) Treatment of Critical Access Hospitals as Rural in Determining 
Eligibility for CRNA Pass-Through Payments.--Section 9320(k) of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 1395k note), as 
amended by section 6132 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1989, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Any facility that qualifies as a critical access 
        hospital (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1) of the Social 
        Security Act) shall be treated as being located in a rural area 
        for purposes of paragraph (1) regardless of any geographic 
        reclassification of the facility, including such a 
        reclassification of the county in which the facility is located 
        as an urban county (also popularly known as a Lugar county) 
        under section 1886(d)(8)(B) of the Social Security Act.''.
    (b) Treatment of Standby and On-Call Costs.--Such section, as 
amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(4) In determining the reasonable costs incurred by a 
        hospital or critical access hospital for the services of a 
        certified registered nurse anesthetist under this subsection, 
        the Secretary shall include standby costs and on-call costs 
        incurred by the hospital or critical access hospital, 
        respectively, with respect to such nurse anesthetist.''.
    (c) Effective Dates.--
            (1) Treatment of cahs as rural in determining crna pass-
        through eligibility.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
        shall apply to calendar years beginning on or after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act (regardless of whether the geographic 
        reclassification of a critical access hospital occurred before, 
        on, or after such date).
            (2) Inclusion of standby costs and on-call costs in 
        determining reasonable costs of crna services.--The amendment 
        made by subsection (b) shall apply to costs incurred in cost 
        reporting periods beginning in fiscal years after fiscal year 
        2003.
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