Home Health Modernization Act of 2002

Home Health Modernization Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to provisions regarding conditions on payments for services and payments of claims of service providers, as amended by Federal law commonly referred to as the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act. Declares that no individual shall be disqualified from being considered confined to the home for any non-medical absence (including, as currently, any absence to attend a religious service), without regard to whether the absence is infrequent or of relatively short duration.

[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2085 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2085

    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to clarify the 
definition of homebound with respect to home health services under the 
                           medicare program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2002

 Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Bond, and Mr. Hutchinson) 
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 clarify the 
definition of homebound with respect to home health services under the 
                           medicare program.

    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 ``Home Health Modernization Act of 
2002''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF THE DEFINITION OF HOMEBOUND.

    (a) In General.--Sections 1814(a) and 1835(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a); 1395n(a)) are each amended by 
striking the last 2 sentences and inserting the following: ``Any other 
absence of an individual from the home, including any absence for the 
purpose of attending a religious service, shall not so disqualify the 
individual.''.
    (b) Technical Amendments.--(1) The sixth sentence of section 
1814(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a)) and the seventh 
sentence of section 1835(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395n(a)) are each 
amended by striking ``leave home,'' and inserting ``leave home and''.
    (2) Section 1814(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a)) 
is amended by moving the seventh sentence, as added by section 
322(a)(1) of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and 
Protection Act of 2000 (appendix F, 114 Stat. 2763A-501), as enacted 
into law by section 1(a)(6) of Public Law 106-554, to the end of that 
section.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to items and services furnished on or after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
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