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Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 › Section 6201

Extension of Increased Inpatient Hospital Payment Adjustment for Certain Low-Volume Hospitals

Section 6201 · Sec. 6201 ·

What this chapter is about

Some hospitals treat few patients. Medicare pays them a little extra. This part splits the year in two. The extra pay keeps its old form until January 30, 2026.

2 proposals indexed from this chapter.

Fiscal year 2026 is split at January 30, 2026

The document says “is amended”Who acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 6201 in the PDF
What the document says

“in subparagraph (B), by striking "in fiscal year 2026" and inserting "during the portion of fiscal year 2026 beginning on January 31, 2026, and ending on September 30, 2026, and in fiscal year 2027"”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 6201

The section amends section 1886(d)(12) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(12)). Where the law spoke of fiscal year 2026 as a whole, it now speaks of two pieces: October 1, 2025 to January 30, 2026, which is treated with the earlier years, and January 31, 2026 to the end of the year, which is treated with fiscal year 2027.

What the document actually says

“in subparagraph (B), by striking "in fiscal year 2026" and inserting "during the portion of fiscal year 2026 beginning on January 31, 2026, and ending on September 30, 2026, and in fiscal year 2027"”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 6201
That sentence, in plain words

The words fiscal year 2026 come out. In their place go words that name two parts of that year.

What this is about

Medicare rules often turn on a year. This law only funds part of a year. So the year is cut in two, and each part gets its own rule.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

The Secretary may put the change in place by program instruction

The document says “can”Who acts: Secretary of Health and Human ServicesHow: statuteSec. 6201 in the PDF
What the document says

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may implement the amendments made by this section by program instruction or otherwise.”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 6201

This clause lets the change take effect without notice and comment rulemaking, which is common in short-term Medicare extensions because the deadline arrives faster than a rule can be written.

What the document actually says

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services may implement the amendments made by this section by program instruction or otherwise.”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 6201
That sentence, in plain words

The Secretary may make this change by sending out an instruction. There is no need for the longer path.

What this is about

Changing a payment rule usually means writing a rule and taking comments. That takes months. This lets the change go out by notice instead.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

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What This Page Covers, and What It Leaves Out

The split of fiscal year 2026 into two periods, and the power given to the Secretary to put the change in place by program instruction.

The parallel edits that insert the same period language into each subclause of section 1886(d)(12). Every one carries the same split.

The section works by amending the Social Security Act. That law is not indexed here, so this file does not say how large the extra payment is or which hospitals qualify.