Supporting Territorial Safety Net Hospitals Act

The Supporting Territorial Safety Net Hospitals Act establishes specific Medicare payment rules for hospitals in U.S. territories (Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands) that serve as safety net providers. It increases inpatient payments to 101% of reasonable costs (up from standard rates) and provides similar increased outpatient payments, with an option for hospitals to choose between payment structures. The bill also makes these hospitals eligible for the 340B drug pricing program, eliminates Medicare sequestration (automatic spending cuts) for them, and reverses previous cuts to bad debt reimbursement. These changes ensure territorial safety net hospitals receive comparable financial support to critical access hospitals under Medicare.