LTCH Technical Correction Act of 2015

LTCH Technical Correction Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, as amended by other specified federal law, with respect to the five-year moratorium beginning April 1, 2014, on the establishment of long-term care (LTC) hospitals and LTC satellite facilities and on the increase of LTC hospital beds in existing LTC hospitals or satellite facilities for purposes of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct).

A technical correction is made to an exception to this moratorium for certain LTC hospitals that:

• began their qualifying period for Medicare payment on or before April 1, 2014;
• have a binding written agreement as of that date with an outside, unrelated party for the actual construction, renovation, lease, or demolition for an LTC hospital, and have expended, before that date, at least 10% of the project's estimated cost (or, if less, $ 2.5 million); or
• have obtained on or before that date an approved certificate of need in a state where one is required.

This bill applies the exception to any similar moratorium.

(Sec. 3) Amends SSAct title XVIII to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under the prospective payment system for inpatient hospital services furnished by an LTC hospital for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2016, to reduce the standard federal payment rate as if the estimated aggregate amount of high cost outlier payments for standard federal payment rate discharges for each fiscal year would be equal to 8% of estimated aggregate payments for standard federal payment rate discharges for that fiscal year.

Directs HHS to set the fixed loss amount for high cost outlier payments so that the estimated aggregate amount of high cost outlier payments made for standard federal payment rate discharges for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2016, shall be equal to 99.0625% of 8% of estimated aggregate payments for standard federal payment rate discharges for each such fiscal year.