Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 121.djvu/2523

 121 STAT. 2502

42 USC 1395ww note.

PUBLIC LAW 110–173—DEC. 29, 2007

their stay for continuation of care in a long-term care hospital, and assesses the available discharge options when patients no longer meet such continued stay criteria; ‘‘(B) the institution has active physician involvement with patients during their treatment through an organized medical staff, physician-directed treatment with physician on-site availability on a daily basis to review patient progress, and consulting physicians on call and capable of being at the patient’s side within a moderate period of time, as determined by the Secretary; and ‘‘(C) the institution has interdisciplinary team treatment for patients, requiring interdisciplinary teams of health care professionals, including physicians, to prepare and carry out an individualized treatment plan for each patient.’’. (b) STUDY AND REPORT ON LONG-TERM CARE HOSPITAL FACILITY AND PATIENT CRITERIA.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall conduct a study on the establishment of national long-term care hospital facility and patient criteria for purposes of determining medical necessity, appropriateness of admission, and continued stay at, and discharge from, long-term care hospitals. (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph (1), together with recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions, including timelines for implementation of patient criteria or other actions, as the Secretary determines appropriate. (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study and preparing the report under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider— (A) recommendations contained in a report to Congress by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission in June 2004 for long-term care hospital-specific facility and patient criteria to ensure that patients admitted to long-term care hospitals are medically complex and appropriate to receive long-term care hospital services; and (B) ongoing work by the Secretary to evaluate and determine the feasibility of such recommendations. (c) PAYMENT FOR LONG-TERM CARE HOSPITAL SERVICES.— (1) NO APPLICATION OF 25 PERCENT PATIENT THRESHOLD PAYMENT ADJUSTMENT TO FREESTANDING AND GRANDFATHERED LTCHS.—The Secretary shall not apply, for cost reporting

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periods beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this Act for a 3-year period— (A) section 412.536 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, or any similar provision, to freestanding long-term care hospitals; and (B) such section or section 412.534 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, or any similar provisions, to a long-term care hospital identified by the amendment made by section 4417(a) of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105–33). (2) PAYMENT FOR HOSPITALS-WITHIN-HOSPITALS.—

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