Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/429

 124 STAT. 403 PUBLIC LAW 111–148—MAR. 23, 2010 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A entity shall submit data to the Secretary on quality measures established under subparagraph (A) during each year of the pilot program (in a form and manner, subject to clause (iii), specified by the Secretary). ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION OF DATA THROUGH ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD.—To the extent practicable, the Sec- retary shall specify that data on measures be submitted under clause (i) through the use of an qualified elec- tronic health record (as defined in section 3000(13) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj– 11(13)) in a manner specified by the Secretary. ‘‘(d) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive such provisions of this title and title XI as may be necessary to carry out the pilot program. ‘‘(e) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION AND REPORTS ON PILOT PRO- GRAM.— ‘‘(1) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall con- duct an independent evaluation of the pilot program, including the extent to which the pilot program has— ‘‘(A) improved quality measures established under sub- section (c)(4)(A); ‘‘(B) improved health outcomes; ‘‘(C) improved applicable beneficiary access to care; and ‘‘(D) reduced spending under this title. ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— ‘‘(A) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the implementation of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the initial results of the independent evaluation conducted under paragraph (1). ‘‘(B) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the implementation of the pilot program, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the final results of the independent evaluation conducted under paragraph (1). ‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult with rep- resentatives of small rural hospitals, including critical access hos- pitals (as defined in section 1861(mm)(1)), regarding their participa- tion in the pilot program. Such consultation shall include consider- ation of innovative methods of implementing bundled payments in hospitals described in the preceding sentence, taking into consid- eration any difficulties in doing so as a result of the low volume of services provided by such hospitals. ‘‘(g) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2016, the Secretary shall submit a plan for the implementation of an expansion of the pilot program if the Secretary determines that such expansion will result in improving or not reducing the quality of patient care and reducing spending under this title. ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION.—Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the selection, testing, and evaluation of models or the expansion of such models under this section.’’. Deadline.