REGULATORY RELIEF FOR LTCHS.

SEC. 15004. REGULATORY RELIEF FOR LTCHS. (a) Technical Change to the Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Moratorium Exception.— (1) In general.—Section 114(d)(7) of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 1395ww note), as amended by sections 3106(b) and 10312(b) of Public Law 111-148, section 1206(b)(2) of the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 (division B of Public Law 113-67), and section 112 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-93), is amended by striking “The moratorium under paragraph (1)(A)” and inserting “Any moratorium under paragraph (1)”. (2) [42 U.S.C. 1395ww note] Effective Date.—The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 112 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014. (b) Modification to Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital High Cost Outlier Payments.—Section 1886(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(7) Treatment of high cost outlier payments.— “(A) Adjustment to the standard federal payment rate for estimated high cost outlier payments.—Under the system described in paragraph (1), for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2017, the Secretary shall reduce the standard Federal payment rate as if the estimated aggregate amount of high cost outlier payments for standard Federal payment rate discharges for each such fiscal year would be equal to 8 percent of estimated aggregate payments for standard Federal payment rate discharges for each such fiscal year. “(B) Limitation on high cost outlier payment amounts.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall set the fixed loss amount for high cost outlier payments such that the estimated aggregate amount of high cost outlier payments made for standard Federal payment rate discharges for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2017, shall be equal to 99.6875 percent of 8 percent of estimated aggregate payments for standard Federal payment rate discharges for each such fiscal year. “(C) Waiver of budget neutrality.—Any reduction in payments resulting from the application of subparagraph (B) shall not be taken into account in applying any budget neutrality provision under such system. “(D) No effect on site neutral high cost outlier payment rate.—This paragraph shall not apply with respect to the computation of the applicable site neutral payment rate under paragraph (6).” .