S. 4233: Save Struggling Hospitals Act

The Save Struggling Hospitals Act aims to amend the Social Security Act's provisions regarding the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy. Here’s a breakdown of what the bill proposes:

Codifying the Low-Wage Index Adjustment

The bill specifically seeks to adjust how the area wage index is calculated for hospitals that are considered low-wage facilities. It focuses on hospitals that have an area wage index below the 25th percentile compared to other hospitals. The key points of the bill are as follows:

• It allows for an increase in the area wage index for these low-wage hospitals. This increase is set at half of the difference between the hospital's applicable wage index and the 25th percentile wage index for that fiscal year.
• This change applies to hospital discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2019, meaning it is retroactively affecting hospitals since that date.

Budget Neutrality Requirements

The bill includes specific provisions to ensure that these adjustments do not negatively affect the budget. Key budget neutrality measures include:

• The adjustments made to the area wage index for low-wage hospitals must not decrease the wage index for any hospital with an index below the 75th percentile.
• It also stipulates that the adjusted wage index for any hospital cannot fall below 95 percent of what it was for the previous fiscal year.

Overall, the Save Struggling Hospitals Act is focused on providing financial support to hospitals facing economic challenges by ensuring they receive fairer wage index calculations under Medicare. This could potentially help them improve their operational stability and enhance patient care services.

Relevant Companies

None found.