US Congress Senate Bill 2786 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: Introduced on April 13 2016 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2016-04-13 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Pending: Senate Finance Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment under Medicare for certain services furnished to hospice patients by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). With respect to a patient who elects to receive hospice care under Medicare, current law generally limits payment for services that are either duplicative of such care or related to the treatment of the individual's terminal illness. However, current law exempts from this limitation: (1) physicians' services furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program; and (2) services provided or arranged by the hospice program. The bill expands this exemption with regard to rural health clinic and FQHC services. Specifically, the Medicare payment limitation shall not apply to such services that: (1) would otherwise be physicians' services if furnished by an individual unaffiliated with a rural health clinic or FQHC; and (2) are either arranged by the hospice program or furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program.

Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2016

Sen. Shelley Capito [R-WV]	Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]	Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]	Sen. Kelly Ayotte [R-NH]
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]

Date	Chamber	Action
2016-04-13	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2786/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2786/BILLS-114s2786is.pdf