United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1986
Amends the Consolidated Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to hold a State harmless in FY 1987 against changes that Act effected in the annual calculation of the Federal medical assistance percentage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act if such changes would cause a reduction of Medicaid payments to the State in FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1986
Prohibits any regulation which is issued under specified Executive Orders that impose sanctions on Libya from being effective if such regulation would allow U.S. persons to participate in production, marketing, or distribution activities with respect to crude oil produced in Libya.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1986
Designates the school year of September 1986 through May 1987 as National Year of the Teacher and January 28, 1987, as National Teacher Appreciation Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1986
States that U.S. defense programs should not carry out any development, test, or deployment activity of any antiballistic missile system or component. (This is in conformance with the defense system restrictions of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1986 - Amends the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 to impose civil liability on anyone who, under actual or apparent authority of any foreign nation, subjects any person to torture or extrajudicial killing. Grants jurisdiction over such cases to U.S. district courts only after claimants have exhausted all available remedies in the place in which the conduct giving rise to the claim occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President and the Secretary of State should insist at the Vienna Review Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in discussions with Communist Party and Soviet leaders, that imprisoned and exiled members of the Ukrainian and other Helsinki Monitoring Groups be released and allowed to emigrate to the countries of their choice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should ensure that the U.S. consulate in Kiev reports on Soviet human rights violations in the Ukraine; and (2) such information should be included in reports on compliance with the Helsinki Final Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1986
Medicare Adult Day Care Amendments of 1986 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment of adult day care programs providing certain health services to chronically-impaired adults in a group setting outside their homes for up to 100 days on a less than 24-hour basis. Requires providers of such services to have a multidisciplinary group of health care personnel conduct a written assessment of the status of each chronically-impaired adult before the adult's admission to the program and thereafter periodically develop a coordinate an individualized treatment plan for, and with the cooperation of, the adult. Defines a "chronically-impaired adult" as an individual 18 years of age or older who has a physical, emotional, or mental impairment which, but for the provision of adult day care, would require the provision of care in a hospital, skilled nursing, or intermediate care facility. Makes deductibles inapplicable to adult day care, requiring only the payment of a specified coinsurance amount. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations regarding adult day care programs. Requires the Secretary to adopt the standards established by the National Institute of Adult Day Care as the minimum standards for qualifying as a provider of such care.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that, in order to encourage the continued improvement of relations between the United States and Romania, the Romanian Government should consider taking specified humanitarian actions in light of the upcoming Bern Human Contacts Experts Meeting of Helsinki signatory states. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of State should: (1) pursue such humanitarian concerns at every possible opportunity, including at the Bern meeting of Helsinki signatory states; and (2) convey to the Romanian Government the importance of progress on such matters so that the Congress may take such progress into account during the 1986 Most Favored Nation deliberations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1986
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) condemns the Soviet Union's failure to provide notification and information about the nuclear accident at Chernobyl; and (2) calls upon the Soviet Union to permit outside nuclear experts to assist with the accident and to allow the international press corps to cover the situation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1986
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow, while a declaration of national emergency is in effect: (1) a foreign income tax credit for any income, war profits, or excess profits taxes paid or accrued to Libya; (2) a business expense income tax deduction for any such taxes paid to Libya; and (3) the income tax exclusion of earned income of U.S. citizens living abroad for any income attributable to Libya. Describes such a declaration as a declaration by the President of a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after a finding that the policies and actions of Libya constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Medicare Quality Protection Act of 1986 - Title I: Quality Assurance in Inpatient Hospital Settings - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and submit to the Congress a legislative proposal to improve the prospective payment system established under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act so that it more accurately approximates the costs of inpatient hospital services and accounts for variations in case complexity. Amends the Medicare program to require a hospital to give Medicare beneficiaries, upon their admission to the hospital, a written statement explaining: (1) the individual's rights to benefits for inpatient hospital and post-hospital Medicare services; (2) the circumstances under which such individual will be liable for charges for a continued hospital stay; (3) the individual's right to appeal denials of continued hospital services; and (4) the individual's liability for payment for services if such a denial of benefits is upheld on appeal. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review organizations receiving a hospital inpatient's request for review of a hospital's decision that the patient no longer needs inpatient care to inform the patient of its decision within two days of receiving the request. Prohibits hospitals from charging patients for inpatient hospital services provided while patients wait for a peer review organization to respond to their timely review requests. Imposes a civil money penalty on hospitals which make payments to physicians and on physicians who knowingly receive payments which constitute an inducement to curtail the stay of, or services provided to, an identifiable patient. Directs the Secretary to study the adequacy of standards used for hospital compliance with Medicare participation conditions in assuring the quality of hospital services. Requires the Secretary to study the adequacy with which the prospective payment system compensates hospitals, and distributes such compensation among hospitals, for costs attributable to patients' extended hospital stays necessitated by delays in patient placement in skilled nursing facilities. Title II: Access to Appropriate Post-Hospital Care - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to require hospitals to implement a discharge planning process which meets guidelines and standards, to be established by the Secretary, ensuring patients a timely and smooth transition to the most appropriate type of, and setting for, post-hospital or rehabilitative care. Extends the limitations on beneficiary liability for disallowed Medicare claims to cover home health services provided to certain unqualified individuals. Provides that skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies which keep their services for which Medicare coverage is denied below specified percentages and comply with certain administrative requirements shall not subsequently be denied payment for care provided. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop a uniform needs assessment instrument enabling health care providers and fiscal intermediaries to evaluate an individual's need and ability to pay for post-hospital extended care, home-health, and long-term care services. Requires the Secretary to develop procedures to expedite fiscal intermediaries' determinations as to whether provider claims for post-hospital extended care and home health services may be reimbursed under the Medicare program. Directs the Secretary to provide for prompt response (within 24 hours) to beneficiary requests as to whether the beneficiary's Medicare coverage for post-hospital extended care services has been exhausted. Authorizes providers to represent beneficiaries on appeals of benefit determinations. Permits beneficiary appeals of the Secretary's denials of claims for home health service benefits. Amends the Social Security Amendments of 1983 to extend, through 1989, the annual report on the impact of the prospective payment system and require the inclusion of information in such reports regarding the quality, and accessibility to Medicare beneficiaries, of post-hospital services. Title III: Improved Review of Quality by Peer Review Organizations - Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require hospitals to submit data to peer review organizations on a monthly basis. Requires peer review organizations to review selected cases where individuals are readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of their most recent hospital discharge to determine if the previous inpatient hospital services and post-hospital services met professionally recognized health care standards. Directs each peer review organization to commit a reasonable proportion of its activities to review of the quality of services provided in cases and settings where potential quality problems have been identified. Requires the Secretary to identify methods facilitating the discovery of such cases. Requires each peer review organization to have at least one consumer representative on its board of directors. Directs such organizations to investigate all written beneficiary complaints about the quality of Medicare services which are filed with the organization. Requires peer review organizations to share data with organizations responsible for accrediting providers or State officials responsible for assuring quality care if such data reflects a substantial failure by providers or practitioners to provide quality care. Title IV: Study to Develop a Strategy for Quality Review and Assurance - Directs the Secretary to arrange a study which will serve as the basis for establishing a strategy for reviewing and assuring the quality of care provided under the Medicare program. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress regarding the study within two years of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Amendments of 1986 - Transfers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): (1) the motor carrier safety functions of the Federal Highway Administration; and (2) the hazardous materials transportation functions of the Research and Special Programs Administration. Establishes in the NHTSA the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety (the Bureau), headed by an Associate Deputy Administrator for Motor Carrier Safety who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Transportation (the Secretary). Outlines the motor carrier safety functions of the Associate Deputy Administrator. Establishes in the NHTSA the Office of Hazardous Materials Transportation, headed by an Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Transportation. Outlines the functions of such Associate Administrator. Requires the Associate Deputy Administrator for Motor Carrier Safety to: (1) notify each motor carrier of the safety rating for such carrier; and (2) publish such ratings annually. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1988: (1) for motor carrier safety functions; (2) to increase to 150 the number of motor carrier safety inspectors; and (3) for the hazardous materials transportation program. Amends the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 to increase the authorizations used to reimburse the States' pro rata share of costs incurred to implement Federal motor vehicle safety rules. Amends the Surface Transportation Act of 1982 to direct the Secretary to make grants to States and political subdivisions for the designation of: (1) hazardous materials transportation routes; and (2) hazardous materials parking sites. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act to require registered carriers of hazardous materials to maintain records of the routes followed in the transportation of such materials. Requires persons engaged in the commercial transportation of certain hazardous materials to prepare an annual registration statement. Authorizes appropriations to make emergency response personnel (police and fire fighters) training grants available to States and local subdivisions for FY 1987 through 1991. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish guidelines for emergency response training programs; (2) publish emergency response procedures; and (3) establish minimum qualifications for the licensing by the States of drivers of motor vehicles transporting hazardous materials. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) such licensing qualifications; and (2) training and retraining programs for personnel engaged in hazardous materials transportation. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a hazardous materials flow study and to report the results of such study to the Congress; and (2) conduct a risks analysis regarding the transportation of high level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel to geologic repository sites and monitored retrievable storage sites, and report the results to the Congress and the Secretary of Energy. Nullifies certain truck brake regulations permitting front brake disconnections. Prohibits the Secretary from issuing new regulations to the same effect. Requires the Secretary to conduct public information programs regarding truck brakes safety.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1986
Prohibits the United States from making available any STINGER air defense guided missile (or any comparable portable ground-to-air missile) to any foreign military or paramilitary force other than: (1) the armed forces of a government with which the United States has diplomatic relations; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; or (3) any other international organization, all of whose members have diplomatic relations with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in light of specified international human rights agreements, the Soviet Union should approve the exit visa applications of Doctor Naum Meiman and his wife, Inna Kitrosskaya, and arrange for them to go to the country of their choice. Urges the President to: (1) protest the Soviet Government's refusal to consider the exit visa applications of Dr. Meiman and his wife; (2) call upon all other signatory nations of the Helsinki Accords to join in such protest; and (3) instruct the U.S. delegation to the meeting of experts on human contacts organized under the auspices of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, to be held in Bern, Switzerland, to pursue this matter.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1986
Designates May 21, 1986, as National Andrei Sakharov Day. Authorizes and requests the President to urge the Soviet Union to permit Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner to freely choose their place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Amends the American Folklife Preservation Act to extend through FY 1989 the authorization of appropriations for the American Folklife Center, located in the Library of Congress. Repeals a restriction on the Center's use of FY 1985 or 1986 funds to pay for any personnel position established after August 21, 1984.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Prohibits the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to specified proposed sales of Sidewinder, Stinger, and Harpoon missiles and services to Saudi Arabia, as described in the April 8, 1986, certifications from the President to the Congress under the Arms Export Control Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1986
Authorizes use of the U.S. Capitol rotunda on May 6, 1986, during a specified time for a ceremony commemorating the days of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Attorney General should examine all available evidence regarding the activities of Kurt Waldheim during the Second World War to determine whether he is ineligible to receive a visa and must be excluded from admission into the United States under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should review documents concerning Kurt Waldheim's role, if any, in Nazi war crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1986
Task Force on Elder Abuse Act of 1985 - Establishes a Task Force on Elder Abuse to assess the nature and extent of public and private efforts needed to report, monitor, and redress elder abuse. Sets forth provisions regarding the membership, pay, and meetings of the Task Force. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate a Task Force Chairman responsible for appointing an Executive Director and staff members for the Task Force. Enumerates the powers of the Task Force. Directs the Task Force to transmit an interim report and, within nine months of its first meeting, a final report to the President and the Congress. Requires executive departments and agencies affected by the final report to submit recommendations to the President regarding the implementation of that report. Terminates the Task Force 30 days after its final report. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1986
Non-Smokers' Protection Act of 1986 - Establishes the policy of the United States to provide an environment free from tobacco smoke to the maximum extent practicable in Government buildings. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Surgeon General, to promulgate regulations to carry out such policy. Requires such regulations, at a minimum, to provide that smoking be prohibited in buildings or building sections occupied by the Government. Authorizes the Secretary to exempt certain limited areas from such restriction and grants precedence to the rights of nonsmokers in any dispute. Requires the posting of signs where smoking is permitted in a building. Directs the Secretary to solicit comments from labor organizations prior to promulgating regulations. Prohibits such regulations from superseding those that provide more stringent restrictions on smoking. Declares that nothing in this Act prevents more stringent regulations from being promulgated.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1986
Nursing Home Resident Protection Act of 1986 - Title I: Medicare and Medicaid Programs - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require intermediate care facilities (other than mental health institutions) to meet skilled nursing facility requirements established under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Act. Makes changes in the conditions placed upon skilled nursing facilities' Medicare participation relating to: (1) the quality and fairness of care; (2) patient participation in facility decision-making; and (3) the extent to which care approximates a patient's particular needs. Substantiates such objectives by providing a nonexclusive list of patients' rights at such facilities. Prohibits State agencies which have agreed to survey nursing facilities' compliance with Medicare participation conditions from providing such facilities with consultation services regarding such conditions. Requires that nursing facility survey results be posted in a place accessible to patients. Requires that nursing facility surveys be: (1) unannounced; (2) conducted by a multidisciplinary team of professionals trained and tested for their duties; (3) focused on the quality of care provided to patients; and (4) performed for each facility on a regular basis, the frequency of such surveys depending upon the facility's record. Directs State agencies to provide for the investigation of complaints against nursing facilities and to use specialized survey teams to survey and carry out enforcement action against chronically substandard facilities and other facilities threatening patients' well-being. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish criteria and procedures for evaluating an institution's plans for the correction of its violations of nursing facility standards. Directs the Secretary to conduct a random annual sample of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities in order to validate State determinations regarding provider compliance with Medicaid requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement intermediate sanctions applicable to Medicare nursing or Medicaid intermediate care facilities which do not substantially satisfy the requirements placed on such facilities, but which do not immediately jeopardize the health, safety, and well-being of their patients. Gives such facilities the right to a hearing after the determination regarding such deficiencies is made. Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Act to give an individual entitled to inpatient hospital services in a nursing or intermediate care facility the right to bring an action in an appropriate Federal district court when such facility's failure to meet the requirements of the Act adversely affects such individual. Title II: Amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1965 - Amends the ombudsman program of the Older Americans Act of 1965 to: (1) authorize an ombudsman to designate a representative to perform ombudsman functions; (2) increase the minimum which must be allotted to the program from grants to States for the provision of social services for the aged; (3) immunize ombudsmen and their representatives from liability under State and Federal law in the performance of their duties, so long as such duties are performed with due care; and (4) provide technical assistance and training for ombudsmen and their representatives. Establishes the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Advisory Council in the Department of Health and Human Services to advise the Secretary regarding the development and operation of the ombudsman program. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress regarding data collected on complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1986
Effective Schools and Even Start Act - Requires each State receiving an allotment under a certain provision of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 after enactment of this Act to use a specified portion of such allotment to: (1) plan for, and review proposed changes in, effective schools programs; (2) implement and support effective schools programs; (3) obtain technical assistance and consultant services with respect to effective schools programs from qualified nonprofit educational organizations; (4) design, develop, and publish educational materials on effective schools programs; (5) develop and implement data collection and analysis systems concerning effective schools programs; (6) promote State and local educational agency awareness of effective schools information; (7) conduct evaluations of effective schools programs; and/or (8) otherwise identify and disseminate information concerning exemplary effective schools programs. Requires the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to provide assistance in order to inform State educational agencies of the requirements of this Act and to help such agencies comply with such requirements. Requires the Secretary to make grants from specified funds appropriated pursuant to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 and the Adult Education Act to provide a program of adult literacy training which includes involving parents and children together in an effort to enhance the likelihood of educational achievement. Sets forth the elements to be included in such program. Defines an eligible program participant as a parent or child (aged three to seven) from a family: (1) that includes a parent who is eligible for participation in an adult basic education program under the Adult Education Act; and (2) that resides with a child (aged three to seven) in a certain type of school attendance area. Declares that any agency that operates an adult basic education program and serves an area which has an especially high concentration of children from low-income families is eligible to apply for a grant under the Even Start program. Sets forth the requirements for a grant application. Requires that two-thirds of the applications selected for final review shall be from urban areas and one-third shall be from rural areas. Provides for the creation of a review panel to make the final selection of grant recipients. Requires any State educational agency required to use funds for an effective school program to amend its application under a specified section of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 to reflect the activities to be conducted with such funds. Requires such a State educational agency and an Even Start program applicant who has been selected to receive funding to enter into a program agreement with the Secretary. Sets forth the information to be included in such agreements. Requires the Secretary to analyze the effective schools programs conducted pursuant to this Act and report to the Congress on such programs by September 30, 1989. Requires the Secretary to provide for annual evaluations of the effectiveness of Even Start programs in providing specified services. Requires the results of the evaluations to be submitted to the national diffusion network for possible dissemination.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1986
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to prohibit the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from providing financial support for any project to establish or expand production or processing of citrus crops for export.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1986
Medicare Continuing Care, Equity, and Quality Assurance Act of 1986 - Title I: Continuing Care Reforms - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Continuing Care Policy Council composed of members with expertise in geriatrics or rehabilitative practices. Requires the Council to make recommendations to the Secretary concerning the administration of continuing care services under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act and as such services are affected by title I of this Act. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to require the Secretary to establish medical claims standards which are to be applied uniformly and take into account a patient's medical profile, condition, and other practical considerations in determining the medical reasonableness and necessity of claims for continuing care services (defined to include extended care and home health services). Requires the Secretary to annually review and, if necessary, revise the standards. Authorizes a fiscal intermediary which has initially determined that some or all of a continuing care services claim may be denied, but has not yet officially denied the claim, to consult with the service provider, patient, and patient's physician to review the determination and approve a modified claim if the services are appropriate and the patient concurs in the modification. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether payments to home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities should be denied, to continue certain presumptions of compliance with reasonable and necessary services requirements until a system providing for case-by-case determinations of authorizations for continuing care services is implemented. Requires system implementation within 30 months of enactment of this Act. Requires a fiscal intermediary to reimburse a provider of continuing care for services provided to an individual for whom there was reasonable evidence of entitlement if the provider makes a timely request that the intermediary determine whether the individual is entitled to such services. Sets forth deadlines by which fiscal intermediaries must respond to provider inquiries concerning the medical necessity of continuing care services. Requires intermediaries to reimburse providers for medically unnecessary services provided over periods during which the intermediary's response is past due. Indemnifies beneficiaries who pay providers for continuing care services without knowing that they are unqualified for such services or that such services are medically unnecessary. Requires the Secretary to investigate allegations that a skilled nursing facility or home health agency has delayed or restricted acceptance of an individual until its receipt of the intermediary's response to its entitlement or medical necessity inquiries. Entitles individuals whose claim for continuing care services has been denied to a hearing by the Secretary and judicial review of the Secretary's final decision. Authorizes provider appeals on behalf of beneficiaries. Provides that, when a fiscal intermediary denies payment for continuing care services or a provider first furnishes such services, such organizations must inform beneficiaries regarding the individual's rights under this Act to appeal payment determinations. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review organizations, in certain situations to be determined by the Secretary, to perform independent medical reviews of fiscal intermediary denials of payment for continuing care services. Requires each peer review organization to annually report to the Secretary regarding such reviews. Directs peer review organizations to authorize payment for services which would not otherwise meet payment conditions where such organization certifies that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the cost-effective provision of the services. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to establish a special benefit consisting of payments to hospitals which retain patients who require only the level of care provided in a skilled nursing facility, but cannot transfer to such a facility due to the unavailability of space in such facilities. Requires the Secretary to establish performance standards for fiscal intermediary medical claims review which: (1) weigh the accuracy and timeliness of such review commensurately with cost savings from such review; (2) specify the qualifications required of review personnel; and (3) require an intensive level of review for new providers and providers with poor performance records. Requires the Secretary to annually inform the Continuing Care Policy Council regarding the intermediaries' performance under these standards. Directs the Secretary to establish a Medicare benefits management demonstration program, including projects which: (1) substitute, for the process of submitting separate claims by providers for an individual beneficiary, a single benefits manager that would identify and track the benefits most appropriate to the beneficiary; and (2) provide additional benefits to Medicare beneficiaries, including noncovered benefits if no additional costs are thereby imposed on beneficiaries or Medicare. Title II: Quality Assurance Reforms - Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to establish a National Council on Quality Assurance. Directs the Director of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment to provide for the appointment of members of the Council. States that the general functions of the Council shall be to: (1) provide oversight on the operations of the quality assurance system under the Medicare program; and (2) make recommendations annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Congress for improvements in the system. Sets forth the Council's functions more specifically. Requires the Council to report annually to the Congress on the functioning and progress of the Council. Authorizes appropriations. Requires contracts with peer review organizations to provide that: (1) at least one-half of the organizations' efforts must be on quality assurance activities; (2) quality assurance activities shall be conducted with respect to all the different types of items and services covered by Medicare; and (3) the level of activity for each of the different types of services and items shall reasonably reflect the proportion of Medicare payments made for that type of service or item. Adds to the definition of the term "peer review organization" so as to require such an entity to: (1) include in its composition representatives of other individuals responsible for the provision of services and items for which the organization is responsible for conducting quality assurance activities; and (2) have a consumer advisory board. Defines a "consumer advisory board." Requires any peer review organization to: (1) educate Medicare beneficiaries; (2) provide for a toll-free 24 hour telephone number, which shall be provided to Medicare beneficiaries for the purpose of receiving questions and complaints from Medicare beneficiaries; (3) assist in resolving any such complaints that are legitimate; (4) make available to its consumer advisory boards appropriate information received from the telephone service; and (5) train members of its consumer advisory board. Appropriates funds, in addition to any other amounts appropriated to carry out part B of title XI, from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund for distribution to peer review organizations. Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program to require hospitals to implement a discharge planning process which meets guidelines and standards to be established by the Secretary, in conjunction with the Continuing Care Policy Council and Council on Quality Assurance, to: (1) protect against inappropriate early hospital discharges; (2) ensure a timely and smooth transition to the most appropriate type of and setting for post-hospital care; and (3) permit early initiation of the authorization process for continuing care services. Requires peer review organizations to monitor hospitals' compliance with discharge planning process requirements. Sets forth study and reporting requirements.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lehman, William [D-FL-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000226_200.jpg)