United States · United States Congress · 2 June 1987
Prohibits, unless the Congress passes a law approving documentation, the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating from issuing a certificate of documentation to a vessel if the vessel was previously registered under the laws of a foreign country and: (1) documentation is sought for the purpose of obtaining the protection of U.S. military forces; or (2) the vessel has been operated, within the 12 months preceding the request for documentation, or is intended to be operated in the Persian Gulf or in an area where commercial vessels have been attacked in such 12 months.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1987
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and promulgate criteria and testing procedures for identifying municipal incinerator bottom and fly ash controlled by flue gas emissions control equipment which presents a substantial hazard to human health or the environment. Requires such criteria and procedures to determine leaching, total chemical analysis, respirability, and toxicity. Requires owners or operators of each such unit to separately test the bottom and fly ash, if possible. Requires that test results be kept and submitted to the Administrator, or the State if it is administering an authorized program. Directs the Administrator to promulgate and revise treatment standards to reduce the hazards associated with such ash, including the migration of hazardous constituents. Requires permits for new and existing treatment facilities which include management plans describing methods of testing, dispersion prevention methods, employee protection methods, and handling methods. Requires all municipal waste combustion units to comply with this Act. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance. Authorizes States to administer and enforce an Administrator-approved program. Authorizes citizen suits for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1987
Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate performance standards for emissions of specified air pollutants, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and lead, from new or modified municipal waste combustion units. Requires such standards to reflect the greatest degree of emission limitation achieved in practice by similar units or contained in a State implementation plan. Makes specified technologies available, including spray dry scrubbers source separation, and wet flue gas denitrification. Requires initial standards to be promulgated within 12 months, in effect within 18 months, and reviewed every five years. Requires jurisdictions served by the municipal combustion unit to have an enforceable solid waste management plan before a State program may issue a permit for a new or modified unit. Requires such plan to reflect the operation of the new or modified unit. Sets a standard of emissions equivalent to that achieved by the five lowest emitting units should the Administrator fail to promulgate a standard for any of the specified pollutants. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations requiring existing units to meet the emissions standards promulgated under this Act according to a timetable which requires compliance at least within six years. Requires owners or operators of municipal waste combustion units to monitor emissions at the point such emissions move into the ambient air and at other points as necessary to protect human health and the environment. Sets monitoring standards, including continuous and periodic monitoring. Requires the Administrator to establish operating and maintenance requirements for all units. Directs the Administrator to establish a model State program for the training and certification of municipal waste incinerator personnel. Requires operating personnel to pass such training or be certified by an authorized State program. Requires unit permits to be terminated five years after their issuance unless the Administrator or an authorized State certifies such unit's compliance with emissions requirements. Permits States to submit for Administrator approval a State program of enforcement, treating the State as the enforcing entity under this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to withdraw such authority if the State is not adequately enforcing these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
Minimum Health Benefits for All Workers Act of 1987 - Title I: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Makes State employers which do not so enroll their employees and their families ineligible to receive grants, contracts, loans, or loan guarantees under such Act. Title II: Amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to add provisions which require each employer to enroll each of its employees and their families in a health benefit plan. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 regarding supersedure of State laws relating to contracts or policies of insurance issued to or under a health benefit plan under title III of this Act. Title III: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans for Employees and Their Families - Part A: Requirements and Definitions - Applies this title to employers required to enroll employees in health benefit plans under certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act or the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Requires each small and certain large employers to use a regional insurer, subject to certain exceptions and conditions. Requires that enrollment of an employee in a health benefit plan under this title includes enrollment of the employee's family in the plan. Prohibits the employee from waiving personal or family enrollment. Provides exceptions to avoid duplicate family enrollment. Prohibits employers from discriminating against any individual because such individual has a spouse or child required under this title to be enrolled in a health benefit plan. Part B: Requirements for Health Benefit Plans - Sets forth general requirements for plans. Permits a health benefit plan to be considered as meeting such requirements provided the actuarial benefits under the plan are not less than would have applied if the plan met the requirements of this part. Specifies benefits which a plan must provide, including inpatient and outpatient hospital care and physician services, tests, and prenatal and well-baby care. Specifies requirements regarding the date of initial coverage and regarding interim coverage. Prohibits pre-existing condition provisions. Allows a plan to require an employee to pay for premiums, deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance, not to exceed certain limits. Prohibits a plan from requiring a premium for an employee whose hourly wage is less than a specified amount. Sets limitations on deductibles. Part C: Certification of Regional Insurers - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to designate six to eight health insurance regions and to establish competitive procedures for the periodic certification of two to five insurers for each region. Specifies requirements for application for and consideration of applications for such certification. Directs the Secretary to periodically evaluate the performance of regional insurers and, under certain circumstances, to terminate the certification of the insurer. Sets forth requirements regarding the types of plans each regional insurer must offer. Requires each regional insurer to fix premiums under a community rating system. Prohibits adjustment of such premiums based on age, gender, or other factors relating to the projected or actual use of services. Permits regional insurers to enter into subcontracts. Directs the Secretary to encourage regional insurers to enter into arrangements with entities representing groups of small businesses for the provision of administrative services. Requires such insurers to reduce the premiums charged by an amount which reflects the value of such services. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to employers, utilizing to the maximum extent feasible entities with experience in providing health insurance services to small businesses. Part D: Regulations and Enforcement - Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules to carry out this title by specified deadlines. Provides for civil penalties for any nongovernmental employer who does not comply with certain provisions of this Act. Makes nongovernmental employers who knowingly fail to comply with certain provisions of this Act liable for damages, including health care costs incurred, to the employee or the employee's family. Allows any individual injured, adversely affected, or aggrieved by violation of certain requirements of this Act to bring an action for injunctive relief. Title IV: Effective Date - Provides for the effective date of this Act and transition rules for certain circumstances. Declares that no employer will be required under title III of this Act to provide any health benefit in addition to the benefits required to be provided by specified provisions of this Act unless: (1) such additional benefit is for a service which State Medicaid plans (under title XIX of the Social Security Act) are required to cover for certain individuals; and (2) before the enactment of such requirement, the benefits and costs of requiring the provision of such additional health benefit have been analyzed and considered by the Congress, according to certain procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1987
Depositor Protection Act of 1987 - Prohibits a bankruptcy trustee from avoiding as a preferential transfer certain withdrawal transactions made by depositors or investors from accounts with certain financial institutions which issue savings obligations or accept deposits in the ordinary course of business. Applies such prohibition to bankruptcy cases filed on or after March 9, 1983.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1987
Designates August 1, 1987, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; (4) convey to U.S. allies the necessity of unity regarding such Accords; (5) continue his efforts to achieve the release of political prisoners of the Soviet Union, increase in Soviet emigration, resolution of family reunification cases, and cessation of radio transmission jamming; (6) seek the inclusion, in any concluding document agreed to in Vienna, of a mechanism to sustain human rights progress after the Vienna Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and (7) convey to signatory states the desire of the United States for a result at Vienna that will not favor military security at the expense of human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1987
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant special immigrant status to an alien service member or veteran who has served honorably in the U.S. armed forces for four years, and to any accompanying spouse and children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1987
Amends Federal law relating to entitlement to impact aid payments to direct the Secretary of Education to allocate certain sums among local educational agencies which have unsatisfied entitlements.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1987
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to direct (current law authorizes) the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to pay travel expenses of certain veterans and their eligible dependents to or from a Veterans Administration facility or other authorized place in connection with rehabilitation, counseling, or medical treatment or care. Defines those veterans entitled to such payment, including: (1) those veterans financially unable to meet such travel costs; and (2) those veterans unable to bear the cost of special transportation necessitated due to a medical disability. Limits such payments in the case of travel by a privately-owned vehicle to the cost of similar public transportation for such travel. Limits such payment to the actual cost incurred for such travel.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1987
Establishes the United States Boxing Corporation to develop model State boxing standards. Directs the Corporation to make grants and provide technical assistance to assist States in adopting and implementing a plan to establish State boxing authorities which meet model standards. Sets forth the purposes of the Corporation, which include: (1) providing a national computer source for certain boxing information; (2) certifying boxers, cut men, referees, physicians, promoters, matchmakers, managers, and trainers; and (3) proposing changes in the rules of professional boxing. Requires the Corporation to withdraw certification where: (1) prescribed standards are not being met; (2) bribery, collusion, intentional losing, racketeering, extortion, or the use of unlawful threats, coercion, or intimidation have been used in connection with such certification; or (3) any boxer, promoter, or referee participates in a bout in a State which is not certified by the Corporation. Sets forth the powers of the Corporation. Defines the number, qualifications, and term of the Corporation's board of directors. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct annual audits of the finances of the Corporation. Requires the Corporation to submit annual reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1987
Medicaid Nursing Home Quality Care Amendments of 1987 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a single set of requirements for skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities (other than facilities for the mentally retarded), and to refer to such facilities as "nursing facilities." Sets forth requirements for nursing facilities, including requirements that such facilities: (1) primarily engage in providing residents with nursing care or rehabilitative services directed toward residents' mental, psychosocial, and physical well-being; (2) provide such care in accordance with a written plan of care initially prepared and periodically reviewed and revised by a licensed health care professional on the basis of assessments of a resident's functional capacity conducted upon the resident's admission and after a significant change in the resident's physical or mental condition, but in no case less often than annually; (3) provide, in addition to nursing and rehabilitative services, such physicians' services, medically-related social services, pharmaceutical services, dietician services, and dental services as are required to fulfill each resident's plan of care; (4) not use any individual who is not a licensed health care professional or licensed social worker to provide nursing or nursing-related services after 1989 to facility residents unless the individual has completed a State-approved training program or is enrolled in such a program, and is competent to provide such services; (5) require a physician's supervision of each patient's care, the maintenance of clinical records on all patients, and 24-hour nursing services; (6) protect specified patient rights, including the right to appeal an involuntary transfer or discharge from the facility; (7) safeguard a patient's funds upon the patient's authorization; (8) not admit any new resident, after 1988, who is mentally ill or retarded unless the State mental health authority deems such individual to require nursing facility services and decides whether the individual requires active treatment for mental illness or retardation; (9) notify the State agency responsible for licensing the facility of changes in the ownership, control, or administration of the facility; (10) adopt certain measures to preserve facility safety and sanitation; and (11) meet such other conditions which the Secretary of Health and Human Services deems necessary for patient health and safety. Requires States to specify, by January 1, 1989, those nursing facility personnel training programs which meet the minimum standards to be established by the Secretary by July 1, 1988, and have the State's approval. Prohibits State approval of a training program offered by a facility that has been out of compliance with this Act's requirements within the previous two years. Requires States to: (1) establish a fair mechanism which meets Federal guidelines to be established by October 1, 1988, for hearing appeals on involuntary transfers of residents from nursing facilities; and (2) implement and enforce standards which are to be developed by the Secretary by January 1, 1989, regarding the qualifications of nursing facility administrators. Requires that, in addition to the preadmission review of mentally ill or retarded individuals, State mental health authorities conduct an annual review of mentally ill or retarded residents to determine whether such residents require nursing facility services and whether they require active treatment for mental illness or retardation. Directs that such preadmission and annual reviews be conducted in accordance with criteria to be developed by the Secretary by October 1, 1988. Sets forth required nursing facility responses to determinations as to whether such residents need nursing facility services and need, or do not need, active treatment for mental illness or retardation. Gives long-term residents who do not require nursing facility services, but who require active treatment, the choice of remaining in the facility or receiving covered services in an alternative setting. Requires nursing facilities to provide for the active treatment of residents in need of treatment for mental illness or retardation regardless of their continued need for nursing facility services or their discharge from such facility. Sets the Federal matching percentage for nursing facility personnel training programs at 50 percent and for preadmission and annual screening of mentally ill or retarded residents at 75 percent. Directs the Secretary to designate an instrument(s) by April 1, 1990, and States to specify the instrument by July 1, 1990, for use by States in assessing a resident's functional capacity. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress by January 1, 1992, on the implementation of the resident assessment process. Imposes civil monetary penalties on individuals who falsify resident assessments. Makes the Secretary responsible for certifying that State nursing facilities comply, and States responsible for certifying that other nursing facilities comply, with Medicaid nursing facility requirements. Bases such certification on standard surveys to be conducted within two months of any change in the ownership or administration of such a facility and, on an unannounced basis, at nine- to 15-month intervals. Subjects facilities with poor compliance records to extended surveys. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and test a protocol for conducting surveys; (2) establish minimum qualifications for surveyors and train them in the use of resident assessment instruments; and (3) conduct sample surveys of nursing facilities, within two months of State surveys, to test the adequacy of State surveys and reduce Federal payments for State Medicaid administrative costs if such State surveys prove inadequate. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a special survey of a facility when there is reason to question its compliance with this Act. Requires States to investigate complaints against, and monitor the compliance of, a facility with this Act's requirements if the facility was previously found out of compliance with such requirements or the State has reason to question its compliance. Requires that certain information regarding nursing facilities and their compliance with this Act's requirements be made available to the public. Provides long-term care ombudsmen, resident's physicians, and the State board which licenses facility administrators with notice of a facility's poor quality of care. Gives State Medicaid fraud and abuse control units access to facility survey and certification information. Sets the Federal matching percentage for nursing facility certification activities at 90 percent in FY 1990, 85 percent in FY 1991, 80 percent in FY 1992, and 75 percent thereafter. Eliminates current penalties applied to a State when its control over the utilization of skilled nursing or intermediate care facility services is deemed inadequate. Requires that when the Secretary or a State determines that a nursing facility's deficiencies immediately jeopardize residents' health and safety, such facility's participation in Medicaid be terminated. Directs the Secretary and States to apply certain other remedies where the health and safety of facility residents is not immediately jeopardized. Provides that if a facility is out of compliance with any of this Act's requirements six months after having been found out of compliance with such requirements, Medicaid payments for newly admitted or eligible residents shall be denied. Sets forth special rules which are to be applied where a State and the Secretary do not agree on a finding of noncompliance or the remedies which should be prescribed.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
Jobs for Employable Dependent Individuals Act - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to entitle each State to the payment of a bonus for the successful job placement of certain employable dependent individuals. Makes the following persons eligible to be counted for an incentive bonus: (1) a head of a household who has received benefits continuously under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act or under cash and medical assistance to refugees under the Immigration and Nationality Act, or a blind or disabled person who has received benefits continuously under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act, for at least two years prior to participation in education, training, and support activities designed to provide jobs for such individuals, and who has no work experience for the year preceding the year for which the eligibility determination is made; or (2) a head of a household who receives benefits at the time determination of eligibility is made under AFDC, under cash and medical assistance to refugees, or a blind or disabled individual who receives benefits under the SSI program, who has not attained 22 years of age, has not completed secondary school or its equivalent (except that this does not apply to blind or disabled persons), and has no work experience for the year preceding the year for which the eligibility determination is made. Requires that such individual: (1) participate in education, training, and support activities designed to provide jobs for such individuals; (2) be placed in nonsubsidized employment (or in the case of a blind or disabled individual, in employment or supported employment) for at least one year after such participation; (3) receive from such employment an income equal to or greater than the cash benefits under the relevant aid program; and (4) no longer qualify for such aid benefits. Provides that the amount of the incentive bonus paid to each State will be equal to: (1) 40 percent of the placement bonus base for each successful placement; (2) 50 percent for the second continuous year of such employment; and (3) 60 percent for the third year. Includes in such calculation only placements in excess of those during FY 1986 or another base period agreed upon by the Governor and the Secretary of Labor (Secretary). Sets forth a formula for the determination of the placement bonus base for each category of eligible recipient. Sets forth State application requirements. Requires adequate verification of placements for approval of applications. Directs the Governor to reserve an amount equal to the amount the State receives for incentive bonuses and to: (1) set aside up to 15 percent of the amount so reserved in each fiscal year for distribution to specified participating entities to support the costs of establishing and maintaining systems necessary for the operation of the incentive bonus program; and (2) distribute the remainder to participating agencies, private industry councils in service delivery areas (SDAs), and service providers, including community-based organizations, that contribute to the incentive bonus program. Limits use of these remainder funds to the following activities designed for the job preparation and job placement of participants: (1) outreach; (2) basic and remedial education, including English language training; (3) training and supportive services, including child care; and (4) transportation. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the incentive bonus program and to report the results to the Congress within three years after this Act's enactment. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue jointly regulations relating to the safeguarding and sharing, among certain participating entities, of pertinent information concerning programs under the incentive bonus program. Reallots unexpected funds exceeding 20 percent of a State's JTPA fiscal year allocation for certain training services for the disadvantaged, plus any balance from the prior year, to States that did not have such excess funds. Requires the Secretary to reallot such monies in accordance with States' need for the ability to use the funds for the incentive bonus program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide improved information and technical assistance on performance standards adjustment approaches; (2) collect data that more adequately identify hard-to-serve individuals and long-term welfare dependency; (3) provide guidance on setting performance goals at a service provider level that encourage increased service to targeted persons; and (4) reexamine performance standards to ensure that they provide maximum flexibility in serving the hard-to-serve, especially long-term welfare recipients. Establishes a basic measure for performance applicable to certain adult education programs. Directs the Secretary to prescribe standards to determine whether the basic measure is being achieved. Lists factors to be included in such standards. Subjects the new programs established under this Act to the JTPA's requirements relating to the submission of a plan, plan review and approval procedures, and performance standards. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing performance standards relating to the placement of certain employable dependent individuals, to weight the placement of such persons in accordance with the average costs of successful placement of such persons compared to the average cost of successful placement of individuals eligible for other specified services for disadvantaged persons.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to remove specified accounts related to railroad retirement funds, taxes, and revenues from inclusion in the Federal budget totals submitted by the President or the Congress, and to exempt such accounts from any general budget limitation imposed by law on Federal expenditures and net lending (budget outlays). Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to prohibit from inclusion in the Federal budget totals submitted by the President or the Congress certain railroad unemployment insurance accounts, taxes, and funds, and to exempt them from any general statutory budget limitations imposed upon Federal expenditures and budget outlays. Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to direct the Railroad Retirement Board (the Board) to submit an annual budget program to the Office of Management and Budget which shall include separate statements of the Board's requested appropriations. Directs the President to include such requested amounts (without revision) in the budget transmitted to the Congress. Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to provide that the Board's authority to determine the number of individuals it shall employ shall not be subject to review by other Federal administrative or accounting personnel. Precludes regulations promulgated by the Board from being subject to review by other Federal administrative or accounting personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1987
Estuarine and Coastal Waters Study and Protection Act - Directs the Administrators of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to jointly develop and implement a national estuarine and coastal waters program which includes an ongoing evaluation of water quality and resource management, particularly as they have been affected by pollution. Requires such program to provide technical assistance to other government agencies in developing and implementing resource management and water quality projects and strategies. Directs the Administrators to jointly issue regulations identifying functions of their respective agencies and how such functions will be coordinated under the applicable environmental laws. Requires the Administrators to jointly designate one or more centers for estuarine and coastal studies to provide research, information collection and dissemination, educational programs, and technical assistance. Directs the Administrators to report biennially to the Congress on Federal activities undertaken to improve water quality and resource management, a ranking of degraded waters, and a discussion of major pollution problems and the research and management needed. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1987
Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1987 - Requires that all telephones sold, rented, or otherwise distributed in the United States be hearing aid compatible, except telephones that are manufactured before the effective date of this Act or that are not required to be registered with the Federal Communications Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1987
Rural Letter Carriers Tax Simplification Act - Provides that, for taxable years beginning after 1986, rural mail carriers are permitted to compute the amount of the income tax deduction for use of their automobiles in performance of mail services: (1) by using a standard mileage rate for all miles of such use equal to 150 percent of the basic standard rate; or (2) without applying the limitation on deductions generally applicable in cases when the business use of the automobile accounts for 50 percent, or less, of its use. Prohibits the use of 150 percent of the basic standard mileage rate in determining the allowable deduction if the taxpayer claims an investment tax credit or depreciation deduction for such automobile.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1987
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to extend until October 1, 1990, the period for transition from the provision of readjustment counseling services for veterans in facilities set apart from general Veterans Administration (VA) health-care facilities to the provision of such counseling services primarily through VA general health-care facilities. Extends until April 1, 1988, the deadline for a report to the Congress by the Administrator of Veterans Affairs concerning the effectiveness of providing such readjustment counseling to veterans. Extends by one year various other reporting dates required of the Administrator under the readjustment counseling program. Revises certain reporting requirements of the Administrator under such program. Directs the Administrator to maintain in operation until October 1, 1988, the same number of readjustment counseling centers as were in operation on April 1, 1987. Amends the Veterans' Health Care Amendments of 1983 to extend until October 1, 1987, the deadline for a report to the Congress by the Administrator on the results of a study of post-traumatic stress disorder and other post-war psychological problems of Vietnam veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1987
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit practitioners from dispensing oral, non-vaccine drugs for profit, except as specified in emergency, rural, or other limited circumstances. Retains to the States authority over the regulation of drug dispensation. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, upon request, to assist States in enforcing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1987
Medicare Home Health Services Improvement Act of 1987 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit patients to receive Medicare home health services on a daily basis for up to 60 days and longer when the patient's physician certifies that exceptional circumstances require continued daily services. Provides Medicare coverage of up to three weeks of post-hospital skilled nonskilled home health care, as long as the cost of such benefits does not exceed the cost of care in a skilled nursing facility for an equivalent period of time. Defines as "homebound" (as prerequisite of eligibility for Medicare home health services) any person who has a condition which restricts his or her ability to leave the home without support or for whom leaving the home is medically contraindicated. Provides Medicare home health coverage for homebound individuals in need of occupational therapy. (Currently, occupational therapy is included only after an individual qualifies for home health services by reason of needing skilled nursing care or speech or physical therapy.) Requires Medicare fiscal intermediaries which perform home health payment services to provide an explanation of claim denials for home health services and promptly notify the parties requesting a reconsideration of such determinations of the result of such reconsideration. Requires fiscal intermediaries to make partial payments of disputed claims when such notice has not been transmitted within 60 days of receipt of the reconsideration request. Makes an intermediary's performance on appeals of home health care payment determinations part of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' overall appraisal of the intermediary. Requires a Medicare home health agency to: (1) protect and promote the rights of each individual under its care; (2) furnish the State licensing entity with the name and social security number of any individual hired by the agency as well as information as to whether such individual has been convicted of a felony; (3) inform the State licensing entity of changes in agency ownership or control; (4) furnish items and services through licensed health professionals or persons who have completed or are enrolled in a training program which meets minimums standards established by the Secretary by July 1988; and (5) include the patient's plan of care within its clinical records. Requires an appropriate State or local agency to conduct a standard survey every nine to fifteen months and upon a change in the ownership of, or significant number of complaints against, a home health agency, of the quality of patient care provided by such agencies. Subjects home health agencies which perform poorly on such surveys to an extended survey. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the assessment process, report to the Congress on the result of such evaluation, and make appropriate modifications to such process by 1992. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement criteria and procedures for evaluating plans of correction submitted by home health agencies found out of compliance with Medicare participation requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to impose intermediate sanctions on agencies whose failure to correct deficiencies pursuant to approved plans of correction does not immediately jeopardize the health and safety of health care beneficiaries. Requires the Secretary to promulgate major Medicare rules, requirements, or policy statements through the regulatory process. Sets forth publication requirements. Directs the Secretary to publish and make available to the public without change a directory of home health agencies certified to participate in the Medical program, including certain information garnered with respect to each agency during the latest certification survey. Requires appropriate State or local agencies to maintain: (1) toll-free hotlines to receive complaints and answer questions regarding home health agencies in the State or locality; and (2) units with enforcement authority and access to consumer medical records and survey reports to investigate such complaints. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the Congress before 1988 on the appropriateness of reimbursing home health agencies on either a rural or urban basis rather than considering an agency's mix of urban and rural clientele; and (2) determine home health agency cost limits on the basis of recent agency cost reports.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1987
Authorizes the Philippine Scouts and United States Veterans' Association of America to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its immediate area to honor the Philippine Scouts and to honor Filipino veterans who served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Prohibits the United States from paying any expenses of the establishment of such memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1987
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) conduct a study of the transportation facilities and services between northern New Jersey and New York City, New York, in order to establish additional facilities and services for current and future needs; and (2) report to the Congress and to the Port Authority of such States the results of such study. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
Makes permanent the income tax credit for qualified research expenditures by repealing the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that would terminate such credit for expenses incurred or paid after 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for an employer to monitor an employee's work phone call unless a repeating audible warning tone is utilized. Allows any person whose call is monitored in violation of this Act to recover civil damages.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1987
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that for each nuclear power plant that does not currently possess a full-power operating license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should apply its regulations so that such a license may be issued only if all of the Commission's emergency planning requirements are met. Includes in such requirements: (1) submission of off-site emergency plans to the Commission by State and local governments; and (2) a finding by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and a determination by the Commission, that such plans and emergency preparedness are deemed adequate to protect the public safety in the event of a serious reactor accident.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1987
Social Security Transitional Benefit Computation Act of 1987 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to alter the formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
![Official portrait of Rep. Florio, James J. [D-NJ-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/dfda094a48c87dccd97fd47288d44ac3_200.jpg)