,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cgej ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ad1 #bjbj,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,bennet1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,hassan1 ,mr4 ,jones1 ,mr4 ,reed1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,manchin1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,ms4 ,rosen1 and ,mr4 ,markey7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xviii of the ,social ,security ,act to modify the accelerated and advance payment programs under parts ,a and ,b of the ,medicare program during the ,,covid-#ai emergency4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,medicare ,accelerated and ,advance ,payments ,improvement ,act4 #b4 ,modifying the accelerated and advance payment programs under parts ,a and ,b of the ,medicare program during the ,,covid-#ai emergency 7a7 ,special repayment rules 7#a7 ,part ,a ,section #ahae7;f77#b77;,c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;g7f77#b77;,c77 is amended to read as follows3 7,c7 ,in the case of an accelerated payment made under such program on or after the date of the enactment of the ,,cares ,act and so made during the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7-- 7i7 such payment shall be treated as if such payment were made from the ,general ,fund of the ,treasury2 7ii7 upon request of the hospital1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,i7 provide #a year before claims are offset to recoup such payment2 7,,ii7 provide that any such offset of a claim to recoup such payment shall not exceed #be percent of the amount of such claim2 and 7,,iii7 allow not less than #b years from the date of the first accelerated payment before requiring that the outstanding balance be paid in full2 and 7iii7 the ,secretary may waive the requirement that such payment be repaid 7or recouped7 if1 not earlier than #b years from the date of the first accelerated payment1 the hospital submits to the ,secretary a request for such waiver containing such information that demonstrates that-- 7,i7 requiring repayment of such payment 7or recouping such payment7 would constitute an extreme hardship for the hospital2 7,,ii7 the hospital made efforts to maintain a comparable number of employees at a comparable level of pay during the such emergency period compared to the number of1 and level of pay for1 such employees as of the day before the beginning of such period2 and 7,,iii7 the hospital did not increase executive compensation or undertake any stock buyback1 if applicable1 during such emergency period4 4 7#b7 ,part ,b 7,a7 ,continuing conduct of advance payment program ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall carry out the program described in section #dba4bad of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation7 for the duration of the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b774 7,b7 ,repayment rules ,in carrying out such program1 in the case of a payment made under such program on or after the date of the enactment of the ,,cares ,act 7,public ,law #aaf-acf7 and so made during the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b771 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services-- 7i7 shall treat such payment as if such payment were made from the ,general ,fund of the ,treasury2 7ii7 upon request of the entity receiving such payment1 shall-- 7,i7 provide #a year before claims are offset to recoup the payment2 7,,ii7 provide that any such offset of a claim to recoup such payment shall not exceed #be percent of the amount of such claim2 and 7,,iii7 allow not less than #b years from the date of the first advance payment before requiring that the outstanding balance be paid in full2 and 7iii7 may waive the requirement that such payment be repaid 7or recouped7 if1 not earlier than #b years from the date of the first advance payment1 the entity submits to the ,secretary a request for such waiver containing such information that demonstrates that-- 7,i7 requiring repayment of such payment 7or recouping such payment7 would constitute an extreme hardship for the entity2 7,,ii7 the entity made efforts to maintain a comparable number of employees at a comparable level of pay during the such emergency period compared to the number of1 and level of pay for1 such employees as of the day before the beginning of such period2 and 7,,iii7 the entity did not increase executive compensation or undertake any stock buyback1 if applicable1 during such emergency period4 7b7 ,interest rates 7#a7 ,part ,a ,section #ahae7;d7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;g7d77 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following3 7or1 in the case of such a determination made with respect to a payment made on or after the date of the enactment of the ,,cares ,act and during the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 under the program under subsection 7e77#c71 at a rate of #a percent74 7#b7 ,part ,b ,section #ahcc7;j7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aciel7j77 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following3 7or1 in the case of such a determination made with respect to a payment made on or after the date of the enactment of the ,,cares ,act and during the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 under the program described in section #dba4bad of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation71 at a rate of #a percent74 7c7 ,report 7#a7 ,reports during ,,covid-#ai emergency ,not later than #b weeks after the date of the enactment of this section1 and every #b weeks thereafter during the emergency period described in section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b771 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means and the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate1 a report that includes the following3 7,a7 ,the total amount of payments made under section #ahae7;e77#c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;g7e77#c77 and under the program described in section #dba4bad of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation7 during the #b-week period preceding the date of the submission of such report4 7,b7 ,the number of entities receiving such payments during such period4 7,c7 ,a specification of each such entity4 7#b7 ,reports after ,,covid-#ai emergency 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #f months after the termination of the emergency period described in paragraph 7#a71 and every #f months thereafter until all specified payments 7as defined in subparagraph 7,b77 have been recouped or repaid1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means and the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house of ,representatives1 and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate1 a report that includes the following3 7i7 ,the total amount of all specified payments that have been recouped or repaid4 7ii7 ,the total amount of all specified payments that have been recouped or repaid4 7iii7 ,the amount of interest that has accrued with respect to all specified payments4 7,b7 ,specified payments ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a71 the term specified payments means all payments made under section #ahae7;e77#c7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acie;g7e77#c77 or under the program described in section #dba4bad of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations 7or a successor regulation7 made on or after the date of the enactment of the ,,cares ,act 7,public ,law #aaf-acf7 during the emergency period described in such subparagraph4