HR-3178 : Still Just a Bill

Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to:

• establish a transitional Medicare payment system with respect to certain home infusion services;
• extend the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin demonstration project and provide for participants to be automatically reenrolled in the project;
• specify that, for purposes of determining the reasonableness and medical necessity of orthotics and prosthetics, documentation created by an orthotist or prosthetist shall be considered part of a beneficiary's medical record;
• allow renal dialysis facilities to be accredited for Medicare participation by an approved accreditation body;
• allow Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to receive certain ESRD-related visits via telehealth;
• codify certain rules regarding signature requirements and holdover arrangements as they relate to prohibitions against physician self-referrals; and
• beginning in FY2021, reduce funding available to the Medicare Improvement Fund by an amount equal to the amount of projected expenditures attributable to specified provisions of the bill.