HEARTS and Rural Relief Act

Summary

HEARTS and Rural Relief Act This bill makes a series of changes relating to Medicare coverage and requirements, particularly with respect to military retirees. Specifically, the bill (1) exempts certain military retirees who are under 65 years of age, and who no longer receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, from the requirement to enroll in Medicare medical services in order to be eligible for TRICARE; (2) increases funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund; and (3) temporarily provides for Medicare coverage of certain prostate cancer DNA Specimen Provenance Assay tests. The bill also makes other changes to Medicare payment systems for certain items and services. Among other things, the bill (1) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to specify the criteria used to exclude certain procedures from the list of covered surgical procedures that may be performed in an ambulatory surgical center under Medicare, and (2) extends the instruction from the CMS for contractors not to enforce the requirements for direct physician supervision of outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2021.

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Timeline

1. 21 June 2019

   Introduced

   Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 21 June 2019

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

3. 21 June 2019

   Introduced

   Introduced in House

   Source: IntroReferral

4. 24 June 2019

   Referred

   Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

   Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in House · 21 June 2019 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in House (text)

  Introduced in House · EN · 21 June 2019

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House (PDF)

  Introduced in House · EN · 21 June 2019

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 21 June 2019

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] · D · Sponsor
• Adrian Smith · R · Sponsor
• · hsif00 · Standing
• · hsas00 · Standing
• · hswm00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → Protecting Access to Wheelchairs Act
• related to → HEARTS Act of 2019
• related to ← To provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2021.
• related to ← ASC Payment Transparency Act of 2019
• related to ← HEARTS and Rural Relief Act