SOLES Act

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.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4250 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4250

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2025

Mr. Begich (for himself and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
    addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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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