CLARIFICATION OF CONTINUATION OF AUGUST 1987 HOSPITAL BAD DEBT RECOGNITION POLICY.

SEC. 6023. CLARIFICATION OF CONTINUATION OF AUGUST 1987 HOSPITAL BAD DEBT RECOGNITION POLICY. (a) In General.—Section 4008(c) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 is amended by adding at the end the following: “The Secretary may not require a hospital to change its bad debt collection policy if a fiscal intermediary, in accordance with the rules in effect as of August 1, 1987, with respect to criteria for indigency determination procedures, record keeping, and determining whether to refer a claim to an external collection agency, has accepted such policy before that date, and the Secretary may not collect from the hospital on the basis of an expectation of a change in the hospital’s collection policy.”. (b) Effective Date.—The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987.