United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Promoting Access, Competition, and Equity Act of 2015 or the PACE Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to ease application criteria and procedures for physician-owned hospitals to expand their facilities. Under current law, expansion of physician-owned hospitals is subject to certain limitations, such as those regarding the extent and frequency of expansion and requiring community output. The bill suspends these limitations with respect to applications for expansion filed before October 1, 2019. Following the end of this suspension period, hospitals with consistently high quality ratings are included among those hospitals that may apply to expand their facilities. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not alter the methodology for computing a hospital's quality rating before October 1, 2019. With respect to hospitals under development as of March 23, 2010, the bill extends to May 1, 2015, the date by which a hospital may qualify for an exception to the ownership or investment prohibition on physician self-referrals. The bill also: (1) exempts physician-owned hospitals from specified documentation and coding adjustments, and (2) extends reductions in certain inflationary increases associated with Medicare payments for inpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Flexibility to Promote Reemployment Act Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act, with respect to grants to states by the Department of Labor for reemployment demonstration projects, to allow grants to up to 10 states per year instead of a maximum of 10 states altogether. Allows a designee of a state governor, instead of only the governor, to apply for such a grant. Extends the allowable project period through December 31, 2019. Allows direct disbursements under a project to employers who hire individuals receiving unemployment compensation to include disbursements promoting retention. Requires the Department to approve completed grant applications in the order of receipt. Revises requirements for termination of a project to require the Department to: notify a state in writing with sufficient detail describing any violation of the substantive terms or conditions of a project justifying its termination, and determine that the state has not taken action to correct the violation within 90 days after notification. Directs the Department to evaluate the impact of each demonstration project, using existing data sources and methodology appropriate to determine project effects, including the effect on individual skill levels, earnings, and employment retention.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 601 South Main Street in Elkhart, Indiana, as the "Staff Sergeant Jesse L. Williams Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
21st Century Cures Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through FY2018. The NIH Innovation Fund is established to fund a strategic plan, early stage investigators, and high-risk, high-reward research. The NIH may require scientific data to be shared if the research is fully funded by the NIH. The NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must implement a system that allows further research on clinical trial data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must expand surveillance of neurological diseases. The Council for 21st Century Cures is established to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative cures, treatments, and preventive measures. The Department of Health and Human Services must monitor the use of antibacterial and antifungal drugs and resistance to these drugs. Requirements are established for interoperability and certification of health information technology. Practices that discourage the exchange of electronic health information are prohibited. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the drug approval process, including by: (1) allowing patient experience data to be considered in the risk-benefit assessment of a new drug, (2) requiring the FDA to qualify drug development tools, (3) allowing the FDA to rely upon data previously submitted for a different purpose to expedite the development of certain drugs, and (4) establishing a streamlined data review program for approval of a drug for an additional indication. Manufacturers and distributors of investigational drugs for serious conditions must publish their policies on compassionate use requests. The marketing exclusivity period is extended by six months for a drug approved for a new indication that is a rare disease or condition. The priority review voucher program for rare pediatric diseases is revised and extended. The FDA must: (1) establish a program for priority review of breakthrough medical devices, (2) identify types of devices that do not require a report preceding introduction, and (3) rely on a third-party to determine the safety and effectiveness of changes to medical devices. Regarding medical devices, this bill defines “valid scientific evidence” and makes changes to classification panels and the humanitarian device exemption. “Health software” is defined and, with certain exceptions, exempted from FDA regulations. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to: (1) increase certain payments for new antimicrobial drugs, (2) establish a payment methodology for certain medical devices, and (3) publish online estimated payments for certain outpatient items and services. A pharmaceutical and technology ombudsman within the CMS must respond to complaints from manufacturers of medical products. Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors may limit the access of certain beneficiaries to frequently abused drugs. This bill amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to allow exported controlled substances to be re-exported within the European Economic Area.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2015
Special Inspector General for Monitoring the ACA Act of 2015 or the SIGMA Act of 2015 Establishes the Office of the Special Inspector General for Monitoring the Affordable Care Act to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the implementation and administration of programs and activities established under, and payment system changes made by, the Affordable Care Act (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010). Requires the Special Inspector General to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Special Inspector General to appoint an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. Places the Special Inspector General under the supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services, but prohibits federal agencies involved in implementing or administering the Affordable Care Act from preventing or prohibiting the Special Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Field EMS Modernization and Innovation Act This bill amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to evaluate the implementation and reimbursement under Medicare of field EMS (emergency medical response and medical care provided outside of a medical facility) other than transportation to the nearest appropriate medical facility. The Social Security Administration (SSA) must: (1) promote innovative payment models for field EMS, (2) develop and evaluate innovative models of field EMS delivery and reimbursement, and (3) pay providers and suppliers of ground ambulance services for reporting certain quality measures. The SSA may establish for field EMS an innovative payment model that has been sufficiently demonstrated. The Public Health Service Act (PHSA) is amended to require the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to: (1) award grants to improve field EMS agency readiness and for field EMS education programs, (2) promote medical oversight of field EMS, (3) make recommendations for improving collection and use of field EMS data that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) must implement, and (4) develop and implement a national emergency medical services strategy to improve patient outcomes in the field and support value-based emergency medical care. Patient safety improvement activities are expanded to include field EMS agencies, medical directors, and emergency medical technicians. Responsibility for the National EMS Information System is transferred from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to the ONC. Emergency medical service providers are health care providers for purposes of title XXX (Health Information Technology and Quality) of the PHSA. HHS is responsible for improving the emergency medical care system and field EMS. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must conduct or support field EMS research. Federal field EMS research may be used to determine Medicare coverage. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund and allow individuals to contribute to the fund when filing a tax return.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Empowering Patients First Act of 2015 This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of their enactment. This bill replaces those provisions with amendments to the Internal Revenue Code, the Public Health Service Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to address health care coverage. The bill provides for refundable tax credits for health insurance coverage and health savings account (HSA) contributions. The bill raises the annual HSA contribution limit, expands eligibility for tax-deductible HSA contributions, and allows HSAs to be used to pay periodic or capitated primary care fees. A limit is placed on the amount of an employer's contribution to health coverage that can be excluded from the employee's taxable income. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must provide a grant to each state for high-risk pools or reinsurance pools to subsidize health insurance for high-risk populations and individuals. Funds authorized, tax credits, and tax deductions under this Act may not be used to pay for an abortion or health coverage that includes abortion, with exceptions. This bill provides for the establishment and governance of independent health pools, entities that form risk pools to offer health insurance coverage to their members. Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2015 This bill provides for the establishment and governance of association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by business associations that meet certain ERISA certification requirements. Health insurers offering individual coverage may deny coverage to an individual, outside of open enrollment periods. Preexisting conditions may be excluded from coverage under certain conditions. Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer. HHS must issue clinical practice guidelines. The bill specifies how these guidelines may be used in a health care lawsuit. HHS may not use comparative effectiveness research or patient-centered outcomes research to deny coverage of an item or service under a federal health care program. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit Medicare beneficiaries to contract with a physician or practitioner for covered health care and submit a claim for payment under Medicare. Health care professionals are exempted from federal and state antitrust laws in connection with negotiations with a health plan to provide health care items or services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Volunteer Organization Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to expand liability protections to volunteer nonprofit organizations for harm caused by an act or omission of a volunteer on behalf of the organization. Prohibits such liability protections from applying if the organization: (1) would be liable under laws governing the direct or vicarious liability of organizations, and (2) expressly authorized the specific conduct constituting the act or omission. Bars such an organization from liability for harm caused by the organization, or a volunteer acting on its behalf, if the act or omission was at the request of, or pursuant to an authorization by, a state, the United States, or another governmental subdivision, provided that: (1) the requesting or authorizing governmental entity would have been immune either from suit or from liability in damages if it had engaged in the acts or omissions itself or through employees or independent contractors; or (2) the governmental employee, agent, or contractor would have been immune either from suit or from liability in damages by virtue of immunity extended to individual governmental actors. Prohibits punitive damages from being awarded against a volunteer nonprofit organization for the actions of a volunteer within the scope of the volunteer's responsibilities to the organization unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the organization itself expressly authorized the volunteer's action with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Increasing Clarity for Doctors by Transitioning Effectively Now Act or the ICD-TEN Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement, administer, and enforce regulations that provide for the replacement of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) ICD-9 with ICD-10 as a standard for code sets. HHS shall conduct, and make available to all participating service providers and suppliers, a comprehensive, end-to-end testing process to assess whether the Medicare fee-for-service claims processing system based on the ICD-10 standard is fully functioning. HHS must subsequently certify to Congress whether or not the Medicare fee-for-service claims processing system based on the ICD-10 standard is fully functioning, including additional steps a not-fully-functioning system will take to achieve certification as well as the anticipated time frame for achieving it.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Enhancing Veterans' Access to Treatment Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish to a veteran enrolled in the VA's patient enrollment system a drug or medicine that a duly licensed physician has determined such veteran is taking or has taken during the preceding 90 days and that has been effective in treating a mental health disorder with which the veteran has been diagnosed, if the prescription is ordered by a duly licensed physician, regardless of whether such drug or medicine is available under the formulary in use by the VA. Directs the VA to revise its prescription medication formulary to ensure that all medications within the classes of antipsychotics and antidepressants that are prescribed by DOD physicians, including such medications prescribed for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, are available at all VA pharmacies.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) with respect to the practices of recovery audit contractors (RACs) under the Medicare program fin identifying underpayments and overpayments and recouping overpayments. Incentive payments to a RAC for recovery activities are prohibited for FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years. Payments for recovery activities shall be reduced, according to a sliding scale established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to any RAC with a complex audit denial rate at the end of a fiscal year, determined pursuant to a specified formula, that is .1% or greater. The one-year timely filing limit for certain rebilled SSAct title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) claims is eliminated, extending the deadline for the rebill to 180 days after final denial of the claim. A determination of whether inpatient hospital services or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished to an individual are reasonable and necessary shall now be based solely on information available to the admitting physician at the time of the inpatient admission of the individual for such services, as documented in the medical record.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. The nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board must include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole menu item; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per common unit of the item, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Nutritional information may be provided solely by a remote-access menu (e.g., an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises. Establishments with self-serve food may comply with the requirements for restaurants or place signs with nutritional information adjacent to each food item. An establishment’s nutrient content disclosures have a “reasonable basis” if they are within acceptable allowances for variation, including variations in serving size or ingredients and inadvertent human error in formulation. Establishments with standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, that are listed as a single menu item can determine and disclose nutritional information using specified methods or methods allowed by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulations pursuant to this Act or the clause amended by this Act cannot take effect earlier than two years after final regulations are promulgated pursuant to this Act. Nutritional information disclosure requirements apply to establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Ensuring Children’s Access to Specialty Care Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to include pediatric subspecialties in primary health services for purposes of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Psychiatrists who are pediatric subspecialists are included in behavioral and mental health professionals. (These amendments make pediatric subspecialists, including psychiatrists, eligible for the NHSC fellowship program for the delivery of primary health services in health professional shortage areas, the NHSC Scholarship Program, and the NHSC Loan Repayment Program.) “Health professional shortage area” can mean an underserved population of children and adolescents.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Bridge to Sustainable Infrastructure Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an inflation adjustment in calendar years after 2015 to the rates of the excise taxes on petroleum and petroleum products, diesel fuel, alcohol-based fuel, and fuels used in certain buses. Appropriations are advanced to the Highway Account and the Mass Transit Account in the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) in anticipation of a shortfall in funding in 2015. Such advances must be repaid from the HTF to the general fund of the Treasury. There is established in the legislative branch the Bipartisan Task Force for Sustainable Highway Funding. The Task Force shall identify and make recommendations addressing factors that affect the long-term fiscal imbalance of the HTF. The rates of excise taxes on petroleum and diesel fuels are increased to cover an identified three- and five-year shortfall in funding of the HTF in 2017 and each subsequent calendar year through 2024.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2015
Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program for states with a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to streamline state requirements and procedures to assist veterans who completed military EMT training to meet state EMT certification, licensure, and other requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund indefinitely and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 anytime after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust. A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA shall not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations. The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill. The agency implementing the permit program must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015 This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw, within 30 days, the proposed rule, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," dated April 21, 2014, describing the water bodies that fall under the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), as well as any final rule based on the proposed rule. The Army Corps and the EPA must develop a new proposed rule to define the term, "waters of the United States" as used in that Act. In developing the new rule, the Army Corps and the EPA must meet requirements concerning consultation with states and localities enumerated in this bill. The new rule must specifically identify those waters covered and not covered by the Clean Water Act and incorporate the areas and issues where consensus was reached by the interested parties. The Army Corps and the EPA must prepare a report with details about the new proposed rule and its development, including: (1) explanations of how the rule addresses public comments filed on certain related rules and reports and addresses recommendations provided in the consultation process; and (2) comprehensive regulatory and economic impact analyses of how the rule will impact interested parties and each program under the Clean Water Act. The Army Corps and the EPA must: (1) publish the report, a description of the areas and issues where consensus was reached with the state and local officials consulted, and the new proposed rule; and (2) make them available for public review and comment for at least 180 days.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act Declares without force or effect Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Bulletin 2013-02 (Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act), published March 21, 2013. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the CFPB, when proposing and issuing guidance primarily related to indirect auto financing, to: provide for a public notice and comment period before issuing the guidance in final form; make publicly available all information relied on by the CFPB; redact any information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act; consult with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice; and study the costs and impacts of the guidance to consumers and women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program of 2015 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award public safety and community policing grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children and elderly and disabled individuals through the use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system. Defines an "elderly individual" as an individual 60 years of age or older. Permits the use of grant funds to: (1) maintain and expand technologies and techniques to ensure the highest level of performance of services; (2) provide both centralized and on-site training and distribute information to law enforcement agency officials about missing individuals and use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system; (3) provide services to Child Abduction Response Teams; (4) assist law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking through the use of rapid telephone and cellular alert calls; (5) share appropriate information on cases with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert, Silver Alert, and Blue Alert programs, and law enforcement; and (6) assist appropriate organizations with education and prevention programs related to missing individuals. Directs the Attorney General to annually: (1) require each grantee to submit the results of monitoring and evaluations of grant recipients, and (2) publish a report regarding such results and the effectiveness of activities carried out under each grant.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Truth in Healthcare Marketing Act of 2015 This bill prohibits any person from making any statement or engaging in any act that misrepresents: (1) whether the person holds a state health care license; or (2) the person's education, training, degree, license, or clinical expertise. A person's advertisement for the person's health care services must disclose the license under which the person is authorized to provide those services. A violation of this Act is an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission must study and report to Congress on health care professionals' misrepresentations under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
This bill amends the Clean Air Act to apply limitations on Reid vapor pressure (a measure of gasoline's volatility) applicable to gasoline blended with 10% ethanol (E10) to gasoline blended with more than 10% ethanol. Limitations on Reid vapor pressure are placed on gasoline during the summer ozone season.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Safe Building Code Incentive Act of 2015 Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to increase the maximum total of contributions for a major disaster by an amount equal to 4% of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made under the Act, if at the time of a declaration of a major disaster the affected state has in effect and is actively enforcing an approved state building code. Requires a state, to be eligible for the increased federal share, to submit its state building code to the President for approval. Directs the President to approve a state building code submitted upon determining that it: (1) is consistent with the most recent version of a nationally recognized model building code, (2) has been adopted by the state within six years of the most recent version of the nationally recognized code, and (3) uses the nationally recognized code as a minimum standard. Requires the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to set appropriate standards for the periodic update, resubmittal, and approval of state building codes, consistent with similar mitigation planning requirements under the Stafford Act. Authorizes the use by states and local governments of technical and financial assistance to implement predisaster hazard mitigation measures to establish and operate a building department and carry out enforcement activities to implement an approved state building code. Directs the President, in determining whether to provide technical and financial assistance to a state or local government, to take into account the extent to which that government is carrying out activities to implement an approved state building code.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act This bill directs the head of any federal agency that awards or obligates funds for any construction contract, or that awards grants, provides financial assistance, or enters into cooperative agreements for construction projects, to ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents do not: (1) require or prohibit a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor from entering into, or adhering to, agreements with a labor organization, with respect to that construction project or another related construction project; or (2) otherwise discriminate against or give preference to such a party because it did or did not become a signatory or otherwise adhere to such an agreement. The bill also allows exemptions to this rule to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve national security, as well as additional exemptions for certain projects meeting specified criteria. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act with respect to the applicable federal contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Community Economic Opportunity Act of 2015 This bill amends the Community Services Block Grant Act to revise the Act and reauthorize it through FY2023. States must adopt performance requirements and performance benchmarks to be included as part of the performance measurement system under this Act. States that receive grants must reserve 2% of the funds for a new Community Action Innovations Program (CAIP) and use not less than 90% of the remainder to make subgrants to eligible entities to enable the entities to implement programs, projects, or services to reduce poverty. Authority is repealed for specific nationally administered grants for: (1) community food and nutrition programs, (2) national or regional programs designed to provide instructional activities for low-income youth, and (3) demonstration partnership agreements addressing the needs of the poor. A state may use certain grant funds for training and technical assistance to eligible entities and innovative projects to reduce poverty conditions. Two or more eligible entities shall receive state assistance to merge if the geographic areas of the state they serve can be more effectively served under a single corporate structure. The same assistance must be given any eligible public organization that determines the area it serves can be more effectively served if it becomes a private public charity. An incentive is repealed for states to enact a charity tax credit. The Department of Health and Human Services must conduct, in at least one-third of the states in each fiscal year, evaluations (including investigations) of state compliance with the Community Services Block Grant Program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2015 Amends the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005 to include as a purpose of state-administered controlled substance monitoring systems ensuring access to prescription history information for the investigative purposes of appropriate law enforcement, regulatory, and state professional licensing authorities. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise and reauthorize through FY2020 the controlled substance monitoring program, including to: allow grants to be used to maintain and operate existing state controlled substance monitoring programs, require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to redistribute any funds that are returned among the remaining grantees, require a state to provide HHS with aggregate data and other information to enable HHS to evaluate the success of the state's program, and expand the program to include any commonwealth or territory of the United States. Allows the Drug Enforcement Administration, HHS, a state Medicaid program, a state health department, or a state substance abuse agency receiving nonidentifiable information from a controlled substance monitoring database for research purposes to make that information available to other entities for research purposes. Requires a state receiving a grant to: (1) facilitate prescriber and dispenser use of the state's controlled substance monitoring system, and (2) educate prescribers and dispensers on the benefits of the system both to them and society.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with an eligible professional (regardless of whether a participating or non-participating physician or practitioner) for any item or service covered by Medicare. Allows such beneficiaries to submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply, except that where the professional is considered to be non-participating, payment shall be paid as if the professional were participating. Defines eligible professional as a physician, a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, a certified nurse-midwife, a clinical social worker, a clinical psychologist, a clinical psychologist, a physical or or occupational therapist or a qualified speech-language pathologist, or a qualified audiologist. Requires a Medicare beneficiary to agree in writing in such a contract to: (1) pay the eligible professional for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit (in lieu of the eligible professional) a claim for Medicare payment. Allows a beneficiary, however, to negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the eligible professional to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf. Preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Public Health Service Act to include employers with 51 to 100 employees as large employers for purposes of health insurance markets. States have the option to treat these employers as small employers. Currently under PPACA, employers with 51 to 100 employees are small employers, but before January 1, 2016, states have the option to treat them as large employers. (Under PPACA, health insurance offered in the small group market must meet certain requirements that do not apply to the large group market, including the requirement to cover the essential health benefits.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the developer of a bioengineered organism intended as food to submit a premarket biotechnology notification to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A “bioengineered organism” (commonly called a “genetically modified organism” or “GMO”) is a plant or part of a plant that has been modified through recombinant DNA techniques in a way that could not be obtained using conventional breeding techniques. The premarket notification must include the developer’s determination that food from, containing, or consisting of the GMO (GMO food) is as safe as a comparable non-GMO food. For the GMO to be sold as food, the FDA must not object to the developer’s determination. If the FDA determines that there is a material difference between a GMO food and a comparable non-GMO food, the FDA can specify labeling that informs consumers of the difference. A food label can only claim that a food is non-GMO if the ingredients are subject to certain supply chain process controls. No food label can suggest that non-GMO foods are safer than GMO foods. A food can be labeled as non-GMO even if it is produced with a GMO processing aid or enzyme or derived from animals fed GMO feed or given GMO drugs. The FDA must allow, but not require, GMO food to be labeled as GMO. The FDA must regulate the use of “natural” on food labels. This bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Agricultural Marketing Service to establish a program to certify non-GMO food. This bill preempts state and local restrictions on GMOs or GMO food and labeling requirements for GMOs, GMO food, non-GMO food, or “natural” food.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2015 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control Act of 1974, and the Rules of the House of Representatives to change the process for the President's budget submission, congressional budget resolutions, appropriations bills, and government strategic and performance plans from the current annual process to a biennial process, in which a biennium is the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. The House Budget Committee must use the second session of each Congress to study issues with long-term budgetary and economic implications. The bill creates a point of order in the House and Senate against authorizations of appropriations that do not include specific authorizations covering at least each fiscal year in one or more bienniums.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Global Food Security Act of 2015 This bill requires the President to coordinate the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to accomplish the objectives of promoting global food security, resilience, and nutrition consistent with national food security investment plans. The President must coordinate the efforts of relevant departments and agencies in implementing the Global Food Security Strategy by establishing monitoring and evaluation systems, coherence, and coordination across relevant departments and agencies; and platforms for regular consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders. By October 1, 2016, the President must submit the strategy to Congress, including a detailed description of how the United States intends to advance the objectives and agency-specific implementation plans. The bill authorizes the President to provide foreign assistance to implement the strategy and prevent or address food shortages. The President must ensure that assistance to implement the strategy is provided under established parameters for a system to monitor and evaluate the progress and impact of the strategy, including by providing specified reports to Congress and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover comprehensive Alzheimer's disease care planning services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
SGR Repeal and Medicare Provider Payment Modernization Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to: (1) remove sustainable growth rate (SGR) methodology from the determination of annual conversion factors in the formula for payment for physicians' services, and (2) revise the update in rates for 2015 and subsequent years. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Merit-based Incentive Payment (MIP) system under which eligible professionals (including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists) shall receive annual payment increases or decreases based on their performance. Requires specified incentive payments to eligible participants in an alternative payment model. Requires the Secretary to: (1) draft a plan for development of quality measures to assess professionals, including non-patient-facing professionals; and (2) make payments for chronic care management services. Expands the kinds of uses of Medicare data available to qualified entities. Directs the Secretary to provide Medicare data to qualified clinical data registries to facilitate quality improvement or patient safety. Declares it a national objective to achieve widespread exchange of health information through interoperable certified electronic health records technology nationwide by December 31, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2015
Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require alignment of updates for ambulatory surgical center (ASC) services under a revised prospective payment system (PPS) with updates for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. Revises requirements for the reporting and applying of quality measure data by ASCs and hospital OPDs. Revises requirements for the composition of the expert outside advisory panel the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to consult during the annual review of the clinical integrity of the groups and payment weights in the PPS for OPD services. Requires the panel to include suppliers subject to the PPS as well as at least one ASC representative. Requires the Secretary, when excluding from a final rule updating ASC lists a procedure whose inclusion was requested during the public comment period, to cite in the final rule specific criteria based on which the procedure was excluded. Requires the Secretary also to identify the peer reviewed research or the evidence upon which the exclusion is based if certain of those criteria are cited for it. Prohibits the Secretary from using or citing as a criterion or a basis for an exclusion that the procedure can only be reported using a Current Procedural Terminology unlisted surgical procedure code.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2015 or the JOLT Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days (in a single 365-day period) if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Revises the secure travel partnership program (the visa waiver program as renamed by this Act) to: (1) authorize DHS to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Expresses the sense of Congress that DHS should, in evaluating countries participating in the secure travel partnership program, give review priority to countries where circumstances indicate that such a review is necessary or desirable. Directs the Department of State to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) set a goal of interviewing 90% of all nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 10 days of application receipt. Directs the State Department to: (1) develop and conduct a pilot program for processing visas using secure remote videoconferencing technology, and (2) seek to coordinate enrollment and interview processes for individuals eligible for both a U.S. visa and enrollment in the Global Entry program. Requires an alien at the time of application for U.S. entry under the secure travel partnership program to have a valid, unexpired electronic passport that incorporates biometric and document authentication identifiers that comply with internationally accepted practices.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Fairness for Farmers Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude nonimmigrant agricultural seasonal workers from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Medicaid Tax Fairness Act of 2015 This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, with respect to payments to states for medical assistance programs, to reduce from 6% to 5.5% on a graduated basis for 2016-2020 and each subsequent year the indirect guarantee thresholds applied for determining permissible broad-based state or local health care-related provider taxes where a requirement is in effect to hold taxpayers harmless for any portion of the costs of the tax. (Currently the state [or other unit of government] imposing a broad-based health care-related tax or tax on each health care class provides for a direct or indirect non-Medicaid payment to those providers or others paying the tax, which may include an offset or waiver that directly or indirectly guarantees to hold taxpayers harmless for all or any portion of the tax amount. Such taxes are permissible if they are applied at a rate that produces revenues less than or equal to 6% of the revenues received by the taxpayer.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2015
Establishing Beneficiary Equity in the Hospital Readmission Program Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) with respect to the hospital readmissions reduction program under the inpatient (hospital) prospective payment system (IPPS). The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in determining a hospital's excess readmission ratio for purposes of making payments for discharges occurring during FY2016-FY2017, is required to make a risk adjustment to the ratio that takes into account both: (1) a hospital's proportion of inpatients who are full-benefit dual eligible individuals (eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid under SSAct title XIX), and (2) the socioeconomic status of patients served by the hospital. The Secretary must base the risk adjustment under the readmission program for subsequent fiscal years on specified reports required by the Improving Medicare Post Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 as well as a report the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission shall submit on the appropriateness of using a threshold of 30 days for readmissions under the program. The Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must then incorporate report recommendations in carrying out risk adjustments for discharges occurring in such fiscal years in order to ensure that the most vulnerable populations are not unfairly penalized by the program. The Secretary shall consider the use of V or other International Classification of Diseases-related codes for potential exclusion of noncompliant patient cases when promulgating related regulations for FY2017. The Secretary must: (1) assess whether to exclude from the calculation of excess readmissions any patients whose clinical conditions or diagnoses may require frequent hospitalizations; then (2) exclude, starting in FY2018, any relevant clinical conditions identified in the assessment recommendations when determining a hospital's publicly reported readmission rate and excess readmissions ratio. The Secretary is directed to make a payment adjustment to subsection (d) hospitals necessary to ensure that the implementation of this Act does not result in any increase in aggregate expenditures under the IPPS. (Generally, a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payment under the IPPS when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015 Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to authorize the Financial Stability Oversight Council to subject a bank holding company to enhanced supervision and prudential standards by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, if the Council makes a final determination that either material financial distress at the bank holding company, or the nature, scope, size, scale, concentration, interconnectedness, or mix of its activities, could threaten the financial stability of the United States. Requires that final determination to be based upon specified factors, using an indicator-based measurement approach established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to determine systemic importance. Deems any bank holding company designated as a Global Systemically Important Bank by the Financial Stability Board, as of the date of enactment of this Act, to have been the subject of a final determination that it could pose a threat to U.S. financial stability for any of those reasons. Prohibits the Council from making a final determination concerning a bank holding company under this Act before one year after its enactment. Deems a bank holding company to have been the subject of such a final determination during this one-year period, however, if its total consolidated assets are $50 billion or more.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 Directs the Federal Communications Commission to amend regulations concerning the height and dimensions of station antenna structures to prohibit a private land use restriction from applying to amateur service communications if the restriction precludes such communications, fails to accommodate such communications, or does not constitute the minimum practicable restriction to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the private entity seeking to enforce the restriction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (in order to cover 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]), regardless of the code billed for a diagnosis as a result of a test, or for the removal of tissue or other procedure furnished in connection with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as the screening test.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate to supporting appropriate clinical care for people with pre-diabetes, diabetes, and the chronic diseases and conditions that are complications of or caused by diabetes. The duties of the Commission include: evaluating HHS programs regarding the utilization of preventive health benefits, identifying current activities and critical gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing integrated care, making recommendations regarding the development and coordination of federally funded clinical practice support tools, recommending clinical pathways for new technologies and treatments, evaluating and expanding education and awareness to health care professionals regarding prevention of diabetes, and reviewing and recommending appropriate methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources. The Commission must submit an operating plan to HHS and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and restores provisions of law amended by those sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in spending under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Health Savings Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to health savings accounts (HSAs), to: (1) allow an additional tax deduction for amounts paid to the HSA of a taxpayer's child or grandchild; (2) allow a rollover of HSA funds to the child, parent, or grandparent of an account holder; (3) increase the maximum HSA contribution limit to match the amount of the deductible and out-of-pocket expenses under a high deductible health plan; and (4) expand the definition of an HSA compatible plan to include bronze, silver, and catastrophic plans on an insurance exchange. Amends the federal bankruptcy code to treat HSAs in the same manner as individual retirement accounts for purposes of determining exemptions from the bankruptcy estate.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Protecting 2nd Amendment Rights Act of 2015 This bill prohibits any government entity from issuing or enforcing a regulation, or taking any other action, that would restrict or prohibit the manufacture, importation, or sale in the United States of any ammunition that is not subject to the restriction or prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider only pursuant to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Authorizes such a warrant to require such disclosure regardless of where such contents may be in electronic storage or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider if the holder of the account the contents of which are sought by the warrant is a U.S. person. Requires a court, on a service provider's motion, to modify or vacate such a warrant upon finding that it would require the provider to violate the laws of a foreign country. Sets forth requirements for government notification of provider customers or subscribers regarding the receipt of communication contents pursuant to such a warrant. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a form for use by a foreign government filing a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) request; (2) establish an online docketing system for all MLAT requests; and (3) publish statistics annually on MLAT requests made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to foreign governments, and by foreign governments to DOJ, to obtain the contents of communications or other information or records from a provider of electronic communications or remote computing services. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) data localization requirements imposed by foreign governments on data providers are incompatible with the borderless nature of the Internet, an impediment to online innovation, and unnecessary to meet the needs of law enforcement; and (2) DOJ, the Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Representative should pursue open data flow policies with foreign nations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Focusing the Fed on the Currency of the United States Act of 2015 or the FFOCUS Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal the joint mandate on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Open Market Committee to make maximum employment one of the goals of their duty to maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit aggregates commensurate with the U.S. economy's long run potential to increase production.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bucshon, Larry [R-IN-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_in_8_bucshon_larry_200.jpg)