Preserve Access to Medicare Rural Home Health Services Act of 2017

Preserve Access to Medicare Rural Home Health Services Act of 2017

This bill amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to extend through 2022 the rural add-on, which is a payment increase for Medicare home health services furnished to patients in rural areas.

The bill also amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to lower, for FY2018-FY2022, the annual ceiling on the home health outlier adjustment, which is a payment increase for home health services furnished to the costliest Medicare beneficiaries, from 2.5% to 2.25% of the total Medicare payments projected to be made under the prospective payment system for home health services. (Under the Medicare prospective payment system, payment is made according to a predetermined, fixed amount.)