Bill Details
S.553 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-12 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced Date
2025-02-12
Policy Area
Health
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
View cosponsors (2)
7
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AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would change how Medicare pays certain small, isolated hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii for outpatient care. If the usual Medicare payment for these services is less than 94% of the hospital’s reasonable costs, Medicare would have to raise the payment to make up the difference. The goal is to help these hospitals cover the higher costs of running emergency and outpatient services in remote areas.
- It applies only to sole community hospitals in Alaska and Hawaii that provide covered outpatient department services.
- The bill says this extra payment would not change patient copayments.
- It also says the added payments would not need to be offset by cuts elsewhere, so they would not be budget neutral.
- The Health and Human Services Secretary would have to issue rules within 6 months of enactment, and the change would start on the first January 1 after those rules are issued.
Official Summaries
Save our Lone Emergency Services Act or the SOLES Act
This bill requires Medicare payments to sole community hospitals in Alaska or Hawaii to cover at least 94% of the reasonable costs of covered outpatient services.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 553 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 553
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a floor on
payments to sole community hospitals located in Alaska and Hawaii under
the hospital outpatient prospective payment system.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 12, 2025
Mr. Sullivan (for himself, Mr. Schatz, and Ms. Murkowski) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a floor on
payments to sole community hospitals located in Alaska and Hawaii under
the hospital outpatient prospective payment system.
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 our Lone Emergency Services
Act'' or the ``SOLES Act''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF SOLE COMMUNITY HOSPITALS LOCATED IN ALASKA AND
HAWAII UNDER HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT
SYSTEM.
Section 1833(t) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(t)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(23) Treatment of sole community hospitals located in
alaska and hawaii.--
``(A) In general.--If the Secretary determines that
the amount of payment under this subsection for covered
OPD services furnished by a sole community hospital (as
defined in section 1886(d)(5)(D)(iii)) that is located
in Alaska or Hawaii is less than 94 percent of the
reasonable costs (as defined in section 1861(v)) of the
hospital providing such services, the amount of payment
under this subsection shall be increased by the amount
of such difference.
``(B) No effect on copayments.--Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to affect the copayment
amount under paragraph (8).
``(C) Application without regard to budget
neutrality.--The additional payments made under this
paragraph--
``(i) shall not be considered an adjustment
under paragraph (2)(E); and
``(ii) shall not be implemented in a budget
neutral manner.
``(D) Rulemaking.--Not later than 6 months after
the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall promulgate regulations to carry out this
paragraph, which shall be effective with respect to
covered OPD services furnished on or after the first
January 1 after such date.''.
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