Save Struggling Hospitals Act

Summary#

This bill would change Medicare rules about the hospital "area wage index." It adds a rule that if a hospital's area wage index is below the 25th percentile, that hospital's wage index for Medicare would be raised by half of the gap between its index and the 25th percentile. The change applies to discharges on or after October 1, 2019. The bill also requires the change to be applied in a budget-neutral way and adds limits on how budget-neutral adjustments can be made.

What it means for you#

• Hospitals with an area wage index below the 25th percentile could get a higher Medicare wage index. That index helps set Medicare payments to hospitals.
• The increase is half of the difference between the hospital's index and the 25th percentile index.
• The rule is written to apply starting October 1, 2019.
• Any offsetting changes to keep the program budget neutral cannot lower a hospital's wage index if its original index was below the 75th percentile. They also cannot reduce a hospital's applicable wage index to less than 95 percent of that hospital's prior fiscal year's wage index.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs or savings. The bill text does require the change to be applied in a budget-neutral manner, and it lists limits on how budget-neutral adjustments may be made.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.