What This Bill Does
This bill repeals certain changes that health care reform laws made to Medicare rules about physician referrals (when doctors send patients to specific hospitals). The bill aims to restore those Medicare rules to how they existed before those health care reform laws were passed.
Who It Affects
Doctors who refer patients to hospitals, hospitals that receive patient referrals, and Medicare (the federal health insurance program for seniors and some disabled people).
Key Provisions
• The bill repeals sections 6001 and 10601 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and section 1106 of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and restores the laws that those sections changed as if those sections had never been enacted (Sec. 2)
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the Medicare rules about which hospitals doctors can refer patients to will return to how they were before the 2010 health care reform laws changed them. The specific rules that will be restored are not detailed in this bill text.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 977
To repeal changes made by health care reform laws to the Medicare exception
to the prohibition on certain physician referrals for hospitals.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 10, 2023
Mr. BURGESS (for himself, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. BABIN, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. HIG-
GINS of Louisiana, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. HERN, Mr. DUNN
of Florida, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. NORMAN,
Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. COLE, Mr. BANKS, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr.
BUCSHON, Mr. FERGUSON, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Mr. CARTER of Georgia,
Mr. BALDERSON, Mr. WENSTRUP, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To repeal changes made by health care reform laws to the
Medicare exception to the prohibition on certain physi-
cian referrals for hospitals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Patient Access to
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Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2023’’.
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•HR 977 IH
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF HEALTH CARE REFORM PROVISIONS
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LIMITING MEDICARE EXCEPTION TO THE
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PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PHYSICIAN RE-
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FERRALS FOR HOSPITALS.
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Sections 6001 and 10601 of the Patient Protection
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and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148; 124 Stat.
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684, 1005) and section 1106 of the Health Care and Edu-
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cation Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–152;
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124 Stat. 1049) are repealed and the provisions of law
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amended by such sections are restored as if such sections
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had never been enacted.
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Æ
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