H.R. 4250 — SOLES Act

This section establishes additional payments under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system for covered outpatient department services furnished by sole community hospitals located in Alaska or Hawaii if the standard payment amount is less than 94 percent of the hospital's reasonable costs, with payment increased by the difference. (Sole community hospitals are rural facilities that are the sole source of inpatient hospital services for their service areas.) The additional payments do not affect beneficiary copayments, are not subject to budget neutrality requirements, and require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate implementing regulations within six months of enactment, effective for services furnished on or after the first January 1 thereafter.