S 1893 — Rural Physician Workforce Production Act of 2021

(a) Requirement of requests and certifications Except as provided in subsections (d) and (g) and in section 1395mm of this title, payment for services furnished an individual may be made only to providers of services which are eligible therefor under section 1395cc of this title and only if— (1) written request, signed by such individual, except in cases in which the Secretary finds it impracticable for the individual to do so, is filed for such payment in such form, in such manner, and by such person or persons as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, no later than the close of the period ending 1 calendar year after the date of service; (2) a physician, or, in the case of services described in subparagraph (B), a physician, or a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or a physician assistant (as those terms are defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who does not have a direct or indirect employment relationship with the facility but is working in collaboration with a physician,,1 or, in the case of services described in subparagraph (C), a physician, a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist (as such terms are defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who is working in accordance with State law, or a physician assistant (as defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who is working in accordance with State law, who is enrolled under section 1395cc(j) of this title, certifies (and recertifies, where such services are furnished over a period of time, in such cases, with such frequency, and accompanied by such supporting material, appropriate to the case involved, as may be provided by regulations, except that the first of such recertifications shall be required in each case of inpatient hospital services not later than the 20th day of such period) that— (A) in the case of inpatient psychiatric hospital services, such services are or were required to be given on an inpatient basis, by or under the supervision of a physician, for the psychiatric treatment of an individual; and (i) such treatment can or could reasonably be expected to improve the condition for which such treatment is or was necessary or (ii) inpatient diagnostic study is or was medically required and such services are or were necessary for such purposes; (B) in the case of post-hospital extended care services, such services are or were required to be given because the individual needs or needed on a daily basis skilled nursing care (provided directly by or requiring the supervision of skilled nursing personnel) or other skilled rehabilitation services, which as a practical matter can only be provided in a skilled nursing facility on an inpatient basis, for any of the conditions with respect to which he was receiving inpatient hospital services (or services which would constitute inpatient hospital services if the institution met the requirements of paragraphs (6) and (9) of section 1395x(e) of this title) prior to transfer to the skilled nursing facility or for a condition requiring such extended care services which arose after such transfer and while he was still in the facility for treatment of the condition or conditions for which he was receiving such inpatient hospital services; (C) in the case of home health services, such services are or were required because the individual is or was confined to his home (except when receiving items and services referred to in section 1395x(m)(7) of this title) and needs or needed skilled nursing care (other than solely venipuncture for the purpose of obtaining a blood sample) on an intermittent basis or physical or speech therapy or, in the case of an individual who has been furnished home health services based on such a need and who no longer has such a need for such care or therapy, continues or continued to need occupational therapy; a plan for furnishing such services to such individual has been established and is periodically reviewed by a physician, a nurse practitioner, a c...

(a) Determination of costs for inpatient hospital services; limitations; exemptions; “operating costs of inpatient hospital services” defined (1) (A) (i) The Secretary, in determining the amount of the payments that may be made under this subchapter with respect to operating costs of inpatient hospital services (as defined in paragraph (4)) shall not recognize as reasonable (in the efficient delivery of health services) costs for the provision of such services by a hospital for a cost reporting period to the extent such costs exceed the applicable percentage (as determined under clause (ii)) of the average of such costs for all hospitals in the same grouping as such hospital for comparable time periods. (ii) For purposes of clause (i), the applicable percentage for hospital cost reporting periods beginning— (I) on or after October 1, 1982, and before October 1, 1983, is 120 percent; (II) on or after October 1, 1983, and before October 1, 1984, is 115 percent; and (III) on or after October 1, 1984, is 110 percent. (B) (i) For purposes of subparagraph (A) the Secretary shall establish case mix indexes for all short-term hospitals, and shall set limits for each hospital based upon the general mix of types of medical cases with respect to which such hospital provides services for which payment may be made under this subchapter. (ii) The Secretary shall set such limits for a cost reporting period of a hospital— (I) by updating available data for a previous period to the immediate preceding cost reporting period by the estimated average rate of change of hospital costs industry-wide, and (II) by projecting for the cost reporting period by the applicable percentage increase (as defined in subsection (b)(3)(B)). (C) The limitation established under subparagraph (A) for any hospital shall in no event be lower than the allowable operating costs of inpatient hospital services (as defined in paragraph (4)) recognized under this subchapter for such hospital for such hospital’s last cost reporting period prior to the hospital’s first cost reporting period for which this section is in effect. (D) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1983. (2) The Secretary shall provide for such exemptions from, and exceptions and adjustments to, the limitation established under paragraph (1)(A) as he deems appropriate, including those which he deems necessary to take into account— (A) the special needs of sole community hospitals, of new hospitals, of risk based health maintenance organizations, and of hospitals which provide atypical services or essential community services, and to take into account extraordinary circumstances beyond the hospital’s control, medical and paramedical education costs, significantly fluctuating population in the service area of the hospital, and unusual labor costs, (B) the special needs of psychiatric hospitals and of public or other hospitals that serve a significantly disproportionate number of patients who have low income or are entitled to benefits under part A of this subchapter, and (C) a decrease in the inpatient hospital services that a hospital provides and that are customarily provided directly by similar hospitals which results in a significant distortion in the operating costs of inpatient hospital services. (3) The limitation established under paragraph (1)(A) shall not apply with respect to any hospital which— (A) is located outside of a standard metropolitan statistical area, and (B) (i) has less than 50 beds, and (ii) was in operation and had less than 50 beds on September 3, 1982. (4) For purposes of this section, the term “operating costs of inpatient hospital services” includes all routine operating costs, ancillary service operating costs, and special care unit operating costs with respect to inpatient hospital services as such costs are determined on an average per admission or per discharge basis (as determined by the Secretary), and includes the c...