Save Struggling Hospitals Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10086 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10086

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to codify the Medicare 
                    low-wage index hospital policy.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 2024

 Mr. Ferguson (for himself and Mr. Griffith) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

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                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to codify the Medicare 
                    low-wage index hospital policy.

    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 ``Save Struggling Hospitals Act''.

SEC. 2. CODIFICATION OF THE MEDICARE LOW-WAGE INDEX HOSPITAL POLICY.

    Section 1886(d)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395ww(d)(3)(E)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), in the first sentence, by striking ``or 
        (iv)'' and inserting ``, (iv), or (v)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(v) Low-wage hospitals.--For discharges 
                        occurring on or after October 1, 2019, the area 
                        wage index applicable under this subparagraph 
                        for a fiscal year to a hospital with an area 
                        wage index below the 25th percentile area wage 
                        index shall be increased by \1/2\ of the 
                        difference between the otherwise applicable 
                        final area wage index for such fiscal year for 
                        such hospital and the 25th percentile area wage 
                        index for such fiscal year across all 
                        hospitals. Pursuant to the fourth sentence of 
                        clause (i), the preceding sentence shall be 
                        applied in a budget neutral manner.''.
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