Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act of 2017

Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act of 2017

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permanently extend the application by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of an instruction against the enforcement of certain physician supervision requirements with respect to outpatient therapeutic services in critical access hospitals and small rural hospitals.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 741 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 741

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 
    permanent extension of the enforcement instruction on Medicare 
    supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in 
               critical access and small rural hospitals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 30, 2017

  Ms. Jenkins of Kansas (for herself, Mr. Loebsack, and Mr. Smith of 
  Nebraska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a 
    permanent extension of the enforcement instruction on Medicare 
    supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in 
               critical access and small rural hospitals.

    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 ``Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ENFORCEMENT INSTRUCTION ON MEDICARE 
              SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTPATIENT THERAPEUTIC 
              SERVICES IN CRITICAL ACCESS AND SMALL RURAL HOSPITALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1834 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395m) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(t) Permanent Extension of Enforcement Instruction on Supervision 
Requirements for Outpatient Therapeutic Services in Critical Access and 
Small Rural Hospitals.--On and after January 1, 2017, the Secretary 
shall continue to apply the enforcement instruction described in the 
notice of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services entitled 
`Enforcement Instruction on Supervision Requirements for Outpatient 
Therapeutic Services in Critical Access and Small Rural Hospitals for 
CY 2013', dated November 1, 2012 (providing for an exception to the 
restatement and clarification under the final rulemaking changes to the 
Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system and calendar 
year 2009 payment rates (published in the Federal Register on November 
18, 2008, 73 Fed. Reg. 68702 through 68704) with respect to 
requirements for direct supervision by physicians for therapeutic 
hospital outpatient services), as previously extended under section 1 
of Public Law 113-198, as amended by section 1 of Public Law 114-112 
and section 16004(a) of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public Law 114-
255).''.
    (b) Repeal of Required Report.--Section 16004 of the 21st Century 
Cures Act (Public Law 114-255) is amended by striking subsection (b).
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