HR-2580 : Still Just a Bill

LTCH Technical Correction Act of 2015

This bill amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, as amended by other specified federal law, with respect to the five-year moratorium beginning April 1, 2014, on the establishment of long-term care (LTC) hospitals and LTC satellite facilities and on the increase of LTC hospital beds in existing LTC hospitals or satellite facilities for purposes of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct).

A technical correction is made to an exception to this moratorium for certain LTC hospitals that:

• began their qualifying period for Medicare payment on or before April 1, 2014;
• have a binding written agreement as of that date with an outside, unrelated party for the actual construction, renovation, lease, or demolition for an LTC hospital, and have expended, before that date, at least 10% of the project's estimated cost (or, if less, $ 2.5 million); or
• have obtained on or before that date an approved certificate of need in a state where one is required.

This bill applies the exception to any similar moratorium.

Amends SSAct title XVIII to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in adjusting the standard federal rate for outlier payments under the prospective payment system for inpatient hospital services furnished by an LTC hospital for rate years beginning on or after October 1, 2016, to apply a reduction factor of 8% to establish an outlier pool.

In reimbursing outlier payments under this system for such rate years, HHS shall structure pool payments so that reimbursements do not exceed an amount equivalent to 99.0625% of the outlier pool for the rate year.