Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations (HOSPICE) Act of 2014”.
Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations (HOSPICE) Act of 2014
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for required Medicare hospice program surveys, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Hospice survey requirement
In general— Section 1861(dd)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(dd)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(c) Any entity that is certified as a hospice program shall be subject to a standard survey by an appropriate State or local survey agency, or an approved accreditation agency, as determined by the Secretary, not less frequently than once every 36 months beginning 6 months after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph.”
Funding— For purposes of carrying out subparagraph (C) of section 1861(dd)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(dd)(4)), as added by subsection (a), there shall be transferred from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund under section 1817 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395i) $25,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2014 through 2016, to be made available for such purposes in equal parts for each such fiscal year.
Sec. 3 Hospice program eligibility recertification technical correction to apply limitation on liability of beneficiary rules
Section 1879 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395pp) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(I) The provisions of this section shall apply with respect to a denial of a payment under this title by reason of section 1814(a)(7)(D)(ii) in the same manner as such provisions apply with respect to a denial of a payment under this title by reason of section 1862(a)(1).”