119-hr538

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 538 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 538

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove the 96-hour 
 physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access 
 hospital services.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 16, 2025

 Mr. Smith of Nebraska (for himself and Ms. Sewell) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove the 96-hour 
 physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access 
 hospital services.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Access Hospital Relief Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. REMOVING MEDICARE 96-HOUR PHYSICIAN CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT 
 FOR INPATIENT CRITICAL ACCESS HOSPITAL SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--

Section 1814

    (a) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395f

    (a) ) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (6) , by adding ``and'' at the end;

    (2) in paragraph

    (7) , at the end of subparagraph
        (E) , by 
 striking ``; and'' and inserting a period; and

    (3) by striking paragraph

    (8) .

    (b) Application.--The amendments made by subsection

    (a) shall apply 
with respect to items and services furnished on or after January 1, 
2026.
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