PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Dec 16, 2015
Medicare and Medicaid Improvements and Adjustments Act of 2015
This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify payment rules and other provisions related to the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The bill includes off-campus outpatient department (OPD) services in Medicare's prospective payment system (in which predetermined amounts form the basis of payment) with respect to departments that are under development.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The existing Medicare payment adjustment for cancer hospitals shall apply to off-campus OPDs.
The bill temporarily prohibits specified Medicare payment adjustments related to competitive acquisition programs for certain wheelchair accessories.
In addition, the bill modifies provisions related to: (1) reimbursement under Medicare for certain drugs furnished through durable medical equipment (DME), (2) Medicare payment rules for certain radiation therapy services, and (3) the treatment of Medicaid supplemental needs trusts.
The bill expands criminal penalties and civil monetary penalties for certain acts involving federal health care programs.
With respect to negative Medicare payment adjustments for physicians and hospitals that fail to comply with certain requirements related to electronic health records (EHR), the bill authorizes a temporary blanket exception.
A patient encounter occurring at an ambulatory surgical center shall not be used to determine whether an eligible professional qualifies as a meaningful EHR user. This prohibition applies until a specified period has passed following a determination by the Department of Health and Human Services that certified EHR technology is applicable to that setting.
Current law limits state reimbursement for DME under Medicaid to Medicare payment rates beginning January 1, 2019. The bill accelerates this limitation such that it begins October 1, 2018.
People & committees
Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] · D–OR
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2409 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2409 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2409 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2409 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.