Miscellaneous provisions

If a hospital is being treated as being located in a rural area under section 1395ww(d)(8)(E) of this title , that hospital shall be treated under this subsection as being located in that rural area.

The Secretary shall reduce the threshold for the establishment of separate ambulatory payment classification groups (APCs) with respect to drugs or biologicals to $50 per administration for drugs and biologicals furnished in 2005 and 2006.

(i) In general In the case of covered OPD services furnished on or after April 1, 2013 , in a hospital described in clause (ii), if— (I) the payment rate that would otherwise apply under this subsection for stereotactic radiosurgery, complete course of treatment of cranial lesion(s) consisting of 1 session that is multi-source Cobalt 60 based (identified as of January 1, 2013 , by HCPCS code 77371 (and any succeeding code) and reimbursed as of such date under APC 0127 (and any succeeding classification group)); exceeds (II) the payment rate that would otherwise apply under this subsection for linear accelerator based stereotactic radiosurgery, complete course of therapy in one session (identified as of January 1, 2013 , by HCPCS code G0173 (and any succeeding code) and reimbursed as of such date under APC 0067 (and any succeeding classification group)),

the payment rate for the service described in subclause (I) shall be reduced to an amount equal to the payment rate for the service described in subclause (II).

(ii) Hospital described A hospital described in this clause is a hospital that is not— (I) located in a rural area (as defined in section 1395ww(d)(2)(D) of this title ); (II) classified as a rural referral center under section 1395ww(d)(5)(C) of this title ; or (III) a sole community hospital (as defined in section 1395ww(d)(5)(D)(iii) of this title ).

(iii) Not budget neutral In making any budget neutrality adjustments under this subsection for 2013 (with respect to covered OPD services furnished on or after April 1, 2013 , and before January 1, 2014 ) or a subsequent year, the Secretary shall not take into account the reduced expenditures that result from the application of this subparagraph.

For provisions relating to the application of appropriate use criteria for certain imaging services, see section 1395m(q) of this title .

Notwithstanding the previous provisions of this subsection:

(i) Limitation on payment for film X-ray imaging services In the case of an imaging service that is an X-ray taken using film and that is furnished during 2017 or a subsequent year, the payment amount for such service (including the X-ray component of a packaged service) that would otherwise be determined under this section (without application of this paragraph and before application of any other adjustment under this subsection) for such year shall be reduced by 20 percent.

(ii) Phased-in limitation on payment for computed radiography imaging services In the case of an imaging service that is an X-ray taken using computed radiography technology (as defined in section 1395w–4(b)(9)(C) of this title )— (I) in the case of such a service furnished during 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, or 2022, the payment amount for such service (including the X-ray component of a packaged service) that would otherwise be determined under this section (without application of this paragraph and before application of any other adjustment under this subsection) for such year shall be reduced by 7 percent; and (II) in the case of such a service furnished during 2023 or a subsequent year, the payment amount for such service (including the X-ray component of a packaged service) that would otherwise be determined under this section (without application of this paragraph and before application of any other adjustment under this subsection) for such year shall be reduced by 10 percent.

(iii) Application without regard to budget neutrality The reductions made under this subparagraph— (I) shall not be considered an adjustment under paragraph (2)(E); and (II) shall not be implemented in a budget neutral manner.

(iv) Implementation In order to implement this subparagraph, the Secretary shall adopt appropriate mechanisms which may include use of modifiers.

(i) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, with respect to a non-opioid treatment for pain relief (as defined in clause (iv)) furnished on or after January 1, 2025 , and before January 1, 2028 , the Secretary shall not package payment for such non-opioid treatment for pain relief into a payment for a covered OPD service (or group of services), and shall make an additional payment as specified in clause (ii) for such non-opioid treatment for pain relief.

(ii) Amount of payment Subject to the limitation under clause (iii), the amount of the payment specified in this clause is, with respect to a non-opioid treatment for pain relief that is— (I) a drug or biological product, the amount of payment for such drug or biological determined under section 1395w–3a of this title that exceeds the portion of the otherwise applicable Medicare OPD fee schedule that the Secretary determines is associated with the drug or biological; or (II) a medical device, the amount of the hospital’s charges for the device, adjusted to cost, that exceeds the portion of the otherwise applicable Medicare OPD fee schedule that the Secretary determines is associated with the device.

(iii) Limitation The additional payment amount specified in clause (ii) shall not exceed the estimated average of 18 percent of the OPD fee schedule amount for the OPD service (or group of services) with which the non-opioid treatment for pain relief is furnished, as determined by the Secretary.

(iv) Definition of non-opioid treatment for pain relief In this subparagraph, the term “non-opioid treatment for pain relief” means a drug, biological product, or medical device that— (I) in the case of a drug or biological product, has a label indication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce postoperative pain, or produce postsurgical or regional analgesia, without acting upon the body’s opioid receptors; (II) in case of a medical device, is used to deliver a therapy to reduce postoperative pain, or produce postsurgical or regional analgesia, and has— (aa) an application under section 360e of title 21 that has been approved with respect to the device, been cleared for market under section 360(k) of such title, or is exempt from the requirements of section 360(k) of such title pursuant to subsection ( l ) or (m) or section 360 of such title or section 360j(g) of such title; and (bb) demonstrated the ability to replace, reduce, or avoid intraoperative or postoperative opioid use or the quantity of opioids prescribed in a clinical trial or through data published in a peer-reviewed journal; (III) does not receive transitional pass-through payment under paragraph (6); and (IV) has payment that is packaged into a payment for a covered OPD service (or group of services).