Save Our Rural Health Providers Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3823 To ensure that a portion of funds appropriated to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for payments to eligible health care providers is reserved for such providers located in rural areas, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2020 Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To ensure that a portion of funds appropriated to the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for pay- ments to eligible health care providers is reserved for such providers located in rural areas, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Rural Health 4 Providers Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3823.IS S3823 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3823 IS SEC. 2. RESERVATION OF FUNDING FOR RURAL HEALTH 1 CARE PROVIDERS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 3 sion of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 4 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall re- 5 serve not less than 20 percent of all amounts described 6 in subsection (b) for reimbursing, through grants or other 7 mechanisms, eligible rural health care providers for health 8 care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable 9 to coronavirus. 10 (b) AMOUNTS.—The amounts described in this sub- 11 section are each of the following: 12 (1) The unobligated balance of the appropria- 13 tion of $100,000,000,000 in the third paragraph 14 under the heading ‘‘Department of Health and 15 Human Services—Office of the Secretary—Public 16 Health and Social Services Emergency Fund’’ in di- 17 vision B of the CARES Act (Public Law 116–136). 18 (2) The unobligated balance of the appropria- 19 tion under the heading ‘‘Department of Health and 20 Human Services—Office of the Secretary—Public 21 Health and Social Services Emergency Fund’’ in di- 22 vision B of the Paycheck Protection Program and 23 Health Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 116– 24 139). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3823.IS S3823 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3823 IS (3) Any unobligated balance of an appropria- 1 tion under any other provision of law enacted prior 2 to the date of enactment of this section that is made 3 available to the Public Health and Social Services 4 Emergency Fund for the purpose of reimbursing, 5 through grants or other mechanisms, health care 6 providers for health care related expenses or lost 7 revenues attributable to coronavirus. 8 (4) Any appropriation under any other provi- 9 sion of law enacted subsequent to the date of enact- 10 ment of this section that is made available to the 11 Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund 12 for the purpose described in paragraph (3). 13 (c) PRIORITY.—In reimbursing eligible rural health 14 care providers under this section, the Secretary shall give 15 priority to such providers that— 16 (1) provide care for a disproportionately high 17 percentage of individuals enrolled in the Medicare 18 program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 19 (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) or under a State Medicaid 20 plan under title XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 21 et seq.) or under a waiver of such plan; 22 (2) provide care for populations with a dis- 23 proportionately high percentage of— 24 (A) individuals age 60 or older; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3823.IS S3823 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3823 IS (B) individuals who have co-morbidities 1 that make them particularly vulnerable to com- 2 plications from coronavirus; or 3 (3) provide care for populations— 4 (A) in areas with limited access to health 5 infrastructure; or 6 (B) with a high population of uninsured 7 individuals. 8 (d) REQUIREMENTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Reimbursements to eligible 10 rural health care providers under this section shall, 11 subject to subsection (c) and paragraph (2), be oth- 12 erwise provided in accordance with the applicable 13 provisions of law described in subsection (b). 14 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Any reimbursements 15 under this section may be used for any purposes re- 16 lated to preventing, preparing for, or responding to 17 coronavirus, including purchasing equipment nec- 18 essary for such purposes or upgrading facilities for 19 such purposes. 20 (e) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RURAL HEALTH CARE 21 PROVIDER.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible rural 22 health care provider’’ means— 23 (1) any health care provider that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3823.IS S3823 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3823 IS (A) is eligible to receive payments under 1 any of the provisions of law described in sub- 2 section (b); and 3 (B) is located in a rural area, as defined 4 by the Secretary; or 5 (2) any health care provider that is— 6 (A) a critical access hospital, as defined in 7 section 1861(mm) of the Social Security Act 8 (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm)); 9 (B) a rural health clinic (as defined in sec- 10 tion 1861(aa)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 11 1395x(aa)(2))); 12 (C) a hospital that— 13 (i) is classified as a rural referral cen- 14 ter under section 1886(d)(5)(C)(i) of such 15 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(5)(C)(i)); and 16 (ii) is a sole community hospital (as 17 defined in section 1886(d)(5)(D)(iii) of 18 such Act (42 U.S.C. 19 1395ww(d)(5)(D)(iii)); or 20 (D) any other health care service provider 21 located in a rural area, as defined by the Sec- 22 retary. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:34 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3823.IS S3823 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS