Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act

Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act

This bill extends the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program under Medicare until two years after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (the program allows hospitals to treat certain patients from emergency departments or inpatient hospital beds at home during the emergency period). It also requires an evaluation of this program and the Hospital Without Walls program (the program allowed hospitals to transfer patients to outside facilities, such as hotels, to continue treatment during the emergency period).

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3792 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3792

    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend acute 
              hospital care at home waiver flexibilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 10 (legislative day, March 7), 2022

 Mr. Carper (for himself, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Tillis, and 
  Ms. Smith) 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 extend acute 
              hospital care at home waiver flexibilities.

    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 ``Hospital Inpatient Services 
Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENDING ACUTE HOSPITAL CARE AT HOME WAIVER FLEXIBILITIES.

    Section 1812 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395d) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(g)(1) During the period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this subsection and ending on the date that is 2 years after the end 
of the emergency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B), inpatient 
hospital services or inpatient critical access hospital services 
described in subsection (a)(1) shall include services (including 
telehealth services as defined in section 1834(m)) furnished to an 
individual by an Acute Hospital Care at Home Program (as defined by the 
Secretary).
    ``(2) With respect to telehealth services furnished by an Acute 
Hospital Care at Home Program during the period described in paragraph 
(1), the requirements described in section 1834(m)(4)(C)(i) shall not 
apply and the sites described in section 1834(m)(4)(C)(ii) shall 
include the home or temporary residence of the individual.
    ``(3) With respect to services furnished in the home or temporary 
residence of the individual through an Acute Hospital Care at Home 
Program during such period, the requirement for providing 24-hour 
nursing services and immediate availability of nursing services as 
conditions of participation shall also be satisfied by providing 
virtual access to nurses, advanced practice providers, or physicians 24 
hours per day.
    ``(4) With respect to services furnished in the home or temporary 
residence of the individual through an Acute Hospital Care at Home 
Program during such period, life safety code requirements shall be 
deemed satisfied for homes or temporary residences determined to be 
safe and appropriate for this care by the Acute Hospital Care at Home 
Program.
    ``(5) Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall issue regulations establishing 
health and safety requirements for Acute Hospital Care at Home 
Programs.''.

SEC. 3. EVALUATION AND REPORT ON ACUTE HOSPITAL CARE AT HOME AND 
              HOSPITAL WITHOUT WALLS WAIVERS.

    (a) Evaluation.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
conduct an evaluation of the Acute Hospital Care at Home and Hospital 
Without Walls waivers issued pursuant to the authority under section 
1135(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(b)). Such 
evaluation shall include an analysis of--
            (1) relevant data collected by the Centers for Medicare & 
        Medicaid Services related to such waivers; and
            (2) the quality of care provided, patient outcomes, 
        beneficiary access, health disparities, patient safety, cost, 
        and utilization.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to 
Congress a report on the evaluation conducted under subsection (a), 
together with recommendations for such legislation and administrative 
action as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
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