Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017
Latest action. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017
TITLE I--IMPROVEMENTS IN PROVISION OF HOME INFUSION THERAPY
(Sec. 101) This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to temporarily provide for transitional Medicare payment with respect to certain home infusion services furnished on or after January 1, 2019. Under current law, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to establish a permanent payment system with respect to such services furnished on or after January 1, 2021.
(Sec. 102) The bill extends the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin demonstration project through 2020, subject to the availability of funds. A Medicare beneficiary who is enrolled in the project on September 30, 2017, shall be automatically reenrolled, subject to an existing cap on project participants.
(Sec. 103) Documentation created by an orthotist or prosthetist shall be considered part of a Medicare beneficiary's medical record for purposes of determining the reasonableness and medical necessity of orthotics and prosthetics.
TITLE II--IMPROVEMENTS IN DIALYSIS SERVICES
(Sec. 201) The bill allows renal dialysis facilities to be accredited by a CMS-approved accreditation body for participation in the Medicare program. The bill also establishes a time frame with respect to initial surveys of renal dialysis facilities.
(Sec. 202) A Medicare beneficiary who has end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and is receiving home dialysis may choose to receive monthly ESRD-related visits via telehealth, provided that the beneficiary also receives face-to-face visits periodically. Specified facility fees and geographic requirements shall not apply with respect to the provision of such services via telehealth.
The Government Accountability Office must study and report to Congress on the further expansion of Medicare coverage of renal dialysis services furnished via telehealth.
TITLE III--IMPROVEMENTS IN APPLICATION OF STARK RULE
(Sec. 301) The bill codifies certain CMS rules regarding signature requirements and holdover arrangements as they relate to prohibitions against physician self-referrals.
(Sec. 302) The bill reduces annual funding available to the Medicare Improvement Fund beginning in FY2021.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House amended" stage on July 25, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 26, 2017: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
KEVIN BRADY (R-TX) introduced it on July 11, 2017, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 11, 2017, 3348 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3333 days ago, on July 26, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers