Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Save Struggling Hospitals Act”.
Save Struggling Hospitals Act
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to codify the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy.
Sec. 2 Codification of the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy
Section 1886(d)(3)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(3)(E)) is amended—
in clause (i), in the first sentence, by striking “or (iv)” and inserting “, (iv), or (v)”; and
by adding at the end the following new clause:
“(v) Low-wage hospitals—For discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2019, the area wage index applicable under this subparagraph for a fiscal year to a hospital with an area wage index below the 25th percentile area wage index shall be increased by ½ of the difference between the otherwise applicable final area wage index for such fiscal year for such hospital and the 25th percentile area wage index for such fiscal year across all hospitals. Pursuant to the fourth sentence of clause (i), the preceding sentence shall be applied in a budget neutral manner.”