Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Strengthening Medicare Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs Act”.
Strengthening Medicare Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs Act
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to strengthen intensive cardiac rehabilitation programs under the Medicare program.
Sec. 2 Revised requirements for Medicare intensive cardiac rehabilitation programs
Section 1861(eee)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(eee)(4)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A)—
in the matter preceding clause (i)—
by striking “physician-supervised program (as described in paragraph (2))” and inserting “program (supervised as described in paragraph (2) for cardiac rehabilitation)”; and
by striking “, in peer-reviewed published research, that it accomplished” and inserting “in peer-reviewed published research specific to the exact program, that, notwithstanding other concurrent therapies, including prescription drugs, by lifestyle changes alone it accomplished”;
in clause (i)—
in subclause (I), by striking “positively affected” and inserting “reversed”;
in subclause (II), by striking “or” and inserting “and”; and
by striking subclause (III);
in clause (ii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by inserting “both a statistically significant increase in the measure of blood flow to the heart when compared to a control group and” before “a statistically significant”; and
by adding at the end the following new sentence:
in subparagraph (B)—
in clause (v), by striking at the end “or”;
in clause (vi), by striking at the end the period; and
by adding at the end the following new clauses:
“(vii) stable, chronic heart failure (defined as patients with left ventricular ejection fraction of 35 percent or less and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II to IV symptoms despite being on optimal heart failure therapy for at least 6 weeks); or
“(viii) any additional condition for which the Secretary has determined that a cardiac rehabilitation program shall be covered.”