SPEEDY COVID-19 Tests Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8496 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise payment amounts for results of COVID–19 PCR diagnostic panels, to require laboratories to furnish the results of such panels within 28 days as a condition of participation under such title, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to revise payment amounts for results of COVID–19 PCR diag- nostic panels, to require laboratories to furnish the re- sults of such panels within 28 days as a condition of participation under such title, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Nov 04, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8496.IH H8496 2 •HR 8496 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strictly Pay for Effi- 2 cient and Expedited Delivery of Your COVID-19 Tests 3 Act’’ or the ‘‘SPEEDY COVID-19 Tests Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. REVISION TO PAYMENT AMOUNTS FOR RESULTS OF 5 COVID–19 PCR DIAGNOSTIC PANELS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834A of the Social Secu- 7 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m–1) is amended by adding at 8 the end the following new subsection: 9 ‘‘(j) PAYMENT FOR DELAYED RESULTS OF COVID– 10 19 PCR DIAGNOSTIC PANELS.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a clinical di- 12 agnostic laboratory test that is the ‘CDC 2019 13 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time Reverse 14 Transcriptase (RT)–PCR Diagnostic Panel’, during 15 the emergency period described in section 16 1135(g)(1)(B) beginning of the date of the enact- 17 ment of this subsection, subject to paragraph (2), if 18 the laboratory furnishes the result of such test to 19 the physician or provider of services from which such 20 test was ordered— 21 ‘‘(A) during the period that is not more 22 than 24 hours after such test was so ordered, 23 the amount of payment for such test shall be 24 125 percent of the amount of payment under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8496.IH H8496 3 •HR 8496 IH this section on the date of the enactment of this 1 subsection; 2 ‘‘(B) during the period that is more than 3 24 hours and less than 48 hours after such test 4 was so ordered, the amount of payment for 5 such test shall be 100 percent of the amount of 6 payment under this section on the date of the 7 enactment of this subsection; 8 ‘‘(C) during the period that is more than 9 48 hours and less than 72 hours after such test 10 was so ordered, payment for such test shall be 11 100 percent of the amount of payment under 12 this section on the first date of such emergency 13 period; and 14 ‘‘(D) during the period that is at least 72 15 hours after such test was so ordered, payment 16 may not be made for such test under this sec- 17 tion. 18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR COVID–19 PCR DIAG- 19 NOSTIC PANELS FURNISHED IN RURAL AND MEDI- 20 CALLY UNDERSERVED AREAS.—In the case of a phy- 21 sician or provider of services that furnishes a test 22 described in paragraph (1) in a rural or medically 23 underserved area, for purposes of determining the 24 applicable period under such paragraph, the number 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8496.IH H8496 4 •HR 8496 IH of hours from which the laboratory furnished the re- 1 sult of the test to the physician or provider of serv- 2 ices after such test was ordered shall be reduced by 3 36 hours.’’. 4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1834A of 5 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m–1), as amended 6 by subsection (a), is further amended— 7 (1) in subsection (b)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘Sub- 9 ject to paragraph (3) and subsections (c) and 10 (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (3) 11 and subsections (c), (d), and (j)’’; and 12 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Pay- 13 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (j), 14 payment’’; 15 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘subject to 16 subsection (j),’’ before ‘‘payment’’; and 17 (3) in subsection (d)— 18 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting 19 ‘‘subject to subsection (j),’’ before ‘‘the pay- 20 ment amount’’; and 21 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Subject 22 to paragraph (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 23 paragraph (4) and subsection (j)’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8496.IH H8496 5 •HR 8496 IH SEC. 3. CONDITION OF PARTICIPATION FOR LABORA- 1 TORIES TO FURNISH THE RESULTS OF 2 COVID–19 PCR DIAGNOSTIC PANELS WITHIN 3 28 DAYS. 4 Section 1866(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 5 U.S.C. 1395cc(a)(1)) is amended— 6 (1) in subparagraph (Y)(ii)— 7 (A) in subclause (IV)(bb), by striking at 8 the end ‘‘and’’; and 9 (B) in subclause (V), by striking the period 10 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 11 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (Y)(ii)(V) 12 the following new subparagraph: 13 ‘‘(Z) in the case of a laboratory that re- 14 ceives an order from a physician or provider of 15 services to furnish the result of a test described 16 in section 1834A(j)(1) during the emergency 17 period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B), to 18 furnish the result to the physician or provider 19 of services from which such test was ordered 20 during the period that is 28 days after such 21 test was so ordered.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:18 Oct 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8496.IH H8496