Bill > HR5644

This bill establishes new payment rules for certain long-term care hospitals that specialize in treating patients with spinal cord or acquired brain injuries, which will be designated as "catastrophic specialty hospitals" under Medicare. To qualify for this designation, a hospital must meet several specific criteria, including having at least 80% of its discharges related to spinal cord or brain injuries, providing a comprehensive continuum of care, discharging at least 175 patients in each of those injury categories per year, admitting at least 30% of inpatients from outside the state, and demonstrating a commitment to neurorehabilitation research through activities like employing dedicated research personnel, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, maintaining clinical training programs, or having medical residency programs in neurology or rehabilitation. If a hospital meets these requirements, it will be designated as a catastrophic specialty hospital for a three-year period and will receive Medicare payments without being subject to the standard payment system for long-term care hospitals. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will periodically review the hospital's continued eligibility, with the option to redesignate the hospital if it continues to meet the criteria or allow the designation to expire if it does not.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5644/all-info