United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
ADA Notification Act - Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to deny a court jurisdiction over a civil action with respect to a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility unless: (1) before filing the complaint, the plaintiff provided to the defendant notice of the alleged violation (by registered mail or in person); (2) the notice identified the specific facts that constitute the alleged violation, including identification of the location at which, and the date on which, the violation occurred; (3) at least 90 days have elapsed after the date on which the notice was so provided; (4) the notice informed the defendant that the civil action could not be commenced until the expiration of such 90-day period; and (5) the complaint states that, as of the date on which the complaint is filed, the defendant has not corrected the alleged violation. Directs that, with respect to a civil action that does not meet the criteria: (1) the court shall impose an appropriate sanction upon the attorneys involved; and (2) if the criteria are subsequently met and the civil action proceeds, the court may not allow the plaintiff attorneys' fees or costs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2001
Medicare Education and Regulatory Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) concerning: (1) prospective application only of certain regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS); and (2) certain requirements for judicial and regulatory challenges of regulations. Requires the Secretary, with respect to Medicare audits, except when clear and convincing evidence exists of fraud or similar fault, to give a physician, provider of services, or provider of ambulance services (physicians or providers) the option of entering into: (1) an arrangement to offset alleged overpayments against future payments; or (2) a repayment plan with its carrier or fiscal intermediary to recoup such an overpayment. Prohibits the Secretary from taking any action to recoup an overpayment or to impose a penalty during the period in which a physician or provider is appealing a determination that such an overpayment has been made or the amount of the overpayment. Prohibits carriers, absent cause, from demanding the production of records or documentation before paying a Medicare claim. Amends SSA title XI with respect to prohibited extensions of remuneration to a Medicare-eligible individual to influence a choice of provider, practitioner, or supplier. Excludes from the meaning of remuneration any waiver of copayment made in a written, mailed communication with existing patients. Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) construction of hearing rights related to decisions to deny or not renew a physician enrollment agreement; (2) the post-payment audit process; (3) definitions relating to physicians or providers; and (4) the right to appeal on behalf of deceased beneficiaries. Amends SSA title XVIII to require carriers, fiscal intermediaries, and contractors to conduct education programs (funded from the Medicare Integrity Program) for physicians and providers on billing, coding, cost reporting, and documentation regulations and procedures. Outlines provisions with regard to certain information requests from physicians and providers. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the inclusion of regulatory costs in the calculation of the sustainable growth rate with respect to the costs of physicians' services. Prohibits the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) from implementing any new evaluation and management documentation guidelines under Medicare, unless it: (1) has provided for an assessment of the proposed guidelines by organizations representing physicians; (2) has established a plan that contains specific goals, including a schedule, for improving use of such guidelines; (3) has completed a minimum of four pilot projects to test such guidelines; and (4) finds that specified objectives will be met in the implementation of such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2001
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List unless: (1) commercially viable uses of nominated lands and lands within ten miles will not be adversely affected; (2) the Secretary has reported to Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact of inclusion on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by law. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, the associated natural resources, and the impact of inclusion on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of Congress. Prohibits any Federal official from nominating any lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve. Nullifies any such designation before enactment of this Act unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted after enactment of this Act and before December 31, 2003; (2) consists solely of federally owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Prohibits any Federal official from nominating, classifying, or designating any Federal land for a special or restricted use under any international conservation agreement unless specifically authorized by law. Provides that any such nomination, classification, or designation of private or State or local lands shall have no force or effect without the owner's consent or specific authorization by State or local law, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Continued Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal specified reductions after FY 2000 and thereby extend certain modifications to disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments provided under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000. Increases the Medicaid DSH allotment for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 2001, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service and amateur satellite service frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands, or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Voting Improvement Act - Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish a program under which the Administrator shall make a one-time payment to each eligible State or local government which used a punch card voting system to administer the regularly scheduled Federal general election in November 2000. Requires the recipient State or local government to replace its punch card voting system with a voting system which does not use punch cards in time for the Federal general election in November 2002. Establishes as an independent entity in the executive branch the Election Administration Commission (Commission) to serve as a national clearinghouse and resource for the compilation of information and review of procedures with respect to the administration of Federal elections. Establishes the Election Administration Commission Advisory Group. Establishes within the Commission: (1) the Election Administration Office to develop, adopt, and update voluntary engineering and procedural performance standards for Federal election voting systems; and (2) the Grant Administration Office to make grants to eligible States, local governments, and eligible manufacturers of voting equipment. Directs the Commission to develop a model election code, and authorizes it to appoint a Model Election Code Task Force to prepare such code and submit it to the Commission for approval. Amends Federal civil service law to entitle an employee to leave without loss of or reduction in pay, leave to which otherwise entitled, credit for time or service, or performance or efficiency rating, in order to serve as an uncompensated poll worker on the day of any Federal general election. Transfers to the Commission: (1) all functions which the Office of the Election Administration, established within the Federal Election Commission (FEC), exercised before enactment of this Act; (2) all functions which the Presidential designee under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act exercised before such date; and (3) all functions which the FEC exercised under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 before such date.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Energy Security for American Consumers Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the production and sales eligibility dates respecting the credit for production of fuel from a nonconventional source. Sets forth a credit phaseout and disallows it as of tax year 2016. Includes certain heavy oil as a qualified fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Independent Energy Production Act of 2001 - Marginal Well Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions relating to domestic oil and gas production which: (1) establish a credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells; and (2) permit a taxpayer to expense geological and geophysical expenditures and to delay rental payments in connection with oil and gas development. Permits a five-year net operating loss carryback for losses attributable to operating mineral interests of independent oil and gas producers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Adjustment Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prescribe a formula for periodic adjustments to the maximum amount of deposit insurance coverage, including an inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions for: (1) a small employer (100 or fewer employees) retirement plan; (2) a credit for the expenses of establishing such a plan; and (3) a model small employer retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Men's Health Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's Health. Requires a report.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Energy Emergency Response Act of 2001 - Amends the following Acts to provide increased funding through FY 2005 for energy programs: (1) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981(for home energy grants); (2) the Energy Conservation and Production Act (for weatherization assistance); and (3) the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (for State energy conservation grants). Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to: (1) mandate that each Federal agency undertake a comprehensive review of practicable measures for increasing energy and water conservation, and for using renewable energy sources; (2) allow as an approved benefit ancillary to an energy savings or performance contract those savings resulting from reduced operation and maintenance costs at replacement facilities; and (3) repeal the termination dates governing the authority to enter into energy savings performance contracts (thus extending such authority indefinitely).
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Education for Democracy Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise and reauthorize provisions for Civic Education. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to or contracts with: (1) the Center for Civic Education (CCE) to carry out civic education activities under the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program, and under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs; and (2) the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) to carry out economic education activities under Cooperative Educational Exchange programs. Revises requirements for CCE implementation of the We the People... The Citizen and the Constitution program and The Project Citizen program. Sets forth requirements for the Cooperative Educational Exchange programs of civic education by CCE and economic education by NCEE. Makes eligible for such programs Central European countries, an Eastern European country, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the independent states of the former Soviet Union. Allows such program eligibility also for the Republic of Ireland, the province of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, and any developing country as defined under the Education for the Deaf Act. Amends the Goals 2000: Educate America Act to repeal provisions for an International Education Program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Straight Talk on Social Security Act of 2001 - Amends the Social Security Act to require Social Security account statements to contain additional information, such as a statement of the current Social Security tax rates applicable to wages and self-employment income, including an indication of the combined total of such rates of employee and employer taxes with respect to wages.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act , the Internal Revenue Code, and Medicare supplemental policy provisions to prohibit health plans and insurers, with respect to protected genetic information, from discriminating in enrollment, eligibility, contribution rates, and premium rates based on such information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of protected genetic information.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Family Opportunity Act of 2001 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval of a demonstration project to provide Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of children with a potentially severe disability. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Social Security and Medicare Off-Budget Lockbox Act of 2001 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide that the receipts and disbursements of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund shall not be counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal or congressional budgets or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) (thus, making it off-budget). Provides for related points of order in the House of Representatives and the Senate to enforce such requirement. Amends the Social Security Act to provide the same budgetary treatment for the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund as is provided to the Federal Disability and Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Funds. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide a point of order in the House or the Senate against consideration of any budget resolution or legislation that would cause or increase an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Supports the goals and ideas of National Donor Day. Encourages all Americans to learn about the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation and to discuss such donations with their families and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2001
Deposit Insurance Fairness and Economic Opportunity Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth a schedule under which the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shall transfer annually to the Financing Corporation (FICO), for payment of FICO interest obligations, such amounts as exceed 1.40 percent of the total estimated deposits insured by the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund, respectively, when amounts in both Funds exceed that percentage.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Bipartisan Patient Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to health care coverage. Requires group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing health insurance coverage, to conduct utilization review activities in connection with the provision of benefits under such plan or coverage only in accordance with an approved utilization review program. Requires health plans and insurers to offer consumers: (1) more care options; and (2) greater access to patient information. Restricts interference by health plans and insurers with the doctor-patient relationship. Prohibits health plans and insurers from discriminating against a licensed health care professional with respect to participation or indemnification. Requires health plans and insurers to comply with patient protection requirements of this Act. Extends and expands provisions of the medical savings account program. Provides for: (1) the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of the self-employed; and (2) a credit for the health insurance expenses of small businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
States that the House of Representatives commends Richard and Annette Bloch and the Bloch Cancer Foundation and their network of invaluable volunteers on behalf of 8,400,000 Americans living with cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Repeals Federal law that prohibits National Guard technicians from receiving compensation for irregular or overtime work. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to: (1) grant an equal amount of compensatory time off for such work; or (2) pay the technician for such work at a rate of one and one-half times their basic rate of pay.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2001 - Provides that: (1) whoever engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense; and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Specifies that a violation of such provisions does not require proof that: (1) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (2) the defendant (or accused) intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Prohibits imposition of the death penalty for an offense under this Act. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a temporary education center for educating people about the Memorial. Requires the center to remain for ten years, after which Congress may reevaluate the continuing need for the center. Sets forth conditions for the use of excess coin funds under the United States Veterans Commemorative Coin Act of 1993 in the construction of such center, including that the Fund provide detailed information with respect to the use of such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Fairness for National Guard Technicians Act - Requires National Guard military technicians (dual status) who are eligible, at the time dual status is lost, to an unreduced retirement annuity and are age 60 or older to be separated no later than 30 days after such status is lost. Requires such technicians who are not eligible to an unreduced annuity or who are not under age 60 at such time to be offered the opportunity to either reapply for a dual status position or apply for a civil service position that is not a technician position. States that a technician shall be considered to lose dual status upon: (1) being separated from the Selected Reserve; or (2) ceasing to hold the military grade specified for the technician position held.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Community Access to Health Care Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for the purpose of assisting the development of integrated health care delivery systems to: (1) serve communities of individuals who are uninsured and individuals who are underinsured; (2) expand the scope of services provided; and (3) improve the efficiency and coordination among the providers of such services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit transporting an individual under age 18 across a State line to obtain an abortion and thereby abridging the right of a parent under a law in force in the State where the individual resides requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision. Makes an exception if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor. Specifies that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution for, or to a civil action based on, such a violation that the defendant reasonably believed that before the individual obtained the abortion, the parental consent or notification or judicial authorization that would have been required had the abortion been performed in the State where the individual resides, took place. Authorizes any parent who suffers legal harm from a violation to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action. Defines "parent" to include a guardian, legal custodian, or person standing in loco parentis who has care and control of the minor, and with whom the minor regularly resides, who is designated by such law as a person to whom notification, or from whom consent, is required.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) initiate a U.S. plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit of the World Health Assembly (of the World Health Organization) in May 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland; and (2) instruct the U.S. delegation to Geneva to implement such plan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Holocaust Education and Awareness Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to carry out education and awareness programs about the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide transportation on Department of Defense aircraft, on a space-available basis, for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 50 percent or more, and for their dependents, on the same basis that such transportation is provided to former military personnel entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Montgomery GI Bill Improvements Act of 2001 - Amends Federal basic educational assistance provisions (the Montgomery GI Bill) to authorize enhanced educational assistance to a member of the armed forces who, after September 30, 2001: (1) first enters on active duty; (2) reenlists or continues to serve on active duty; (3) serves a continuous period of active duty of four years; or (4) serves and is discharged or released for a service-connected disability, at the convenience of the Government (after serving at least 42 months of such duty), or due to a reduction in force. Limits to 36 months the period for such enhanced assistance. Requires the payment of educational expenses under such program. Provides: (1) a monthly stipend for approved programs of education; and (2) tutorial assistance. Increases the monthly rates of basic educational assistance. Repeals, with respect to such assistance: (1) a required monthly reduction in pay for individuals who do not elect to participate in such assistance program; (2) a provision authorizing individuals to elect not to receive such assistance; (3) the requirement that participants complete the requirements of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate prior to the end of their initial obligated period of service in order to be eligible to receive such assistance; and (4) provisions limiting an individual's opportunity to withdraw an election not to enroll in such assistance program. Authorizes an individual entitled to basic educational assistance to receive an accelerated payment of such allowance, beginning on March 1, 2002, under certain conditions. Authorizes the use of basic educational assistance for training for technological occupations offered by entities other than educational institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Surviving Spouses and Dependents Outreach Enhancement and Veterans Casework Improvement Act - Encourages all elements within the Department of Veterans Affairs and public and private sector entities (including veterans service and veterans widows organizations) to work cooperatively to fully inform veterans' surviving spouses and dependents regarding their eligibility for veterans' benefits and health care services. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to assign appropriate Department employees to conduct outreach programs and provide outreach services for eligible spouses and dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit the solicitation of soft money (not subject to FECA) by political parties, increasing the contribution limit for State committees of political parties and the aggregate individual contribution limit. Prohibits a committee of a political party, after party nomination of a candidate, from making both coordinated and independent expenditures to the candidate during the election cycle. Requires a coordinated activity to be considered a contribution to the candidate and an expenditure by the candidate. Prohibits the deposit (except in escrow accounts) or negotiation of contributions from a person making aggregate contributions exceeding $200 annually by a candidate's authorized committee, unless the information required of and disclosed by the contributor is complete. Establishes: (1) time frames (with certain exceptions) for filing of statements with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by certain persons who make aggregate disbursements exceeding $50,000 annually (of soft money) for specified Federal election activities expressing support for or opposition to a Federal office candidate or a political party; and (2) a voluntary personal funds expenditure limit of $50,000 for eligible congressional candidates. Sets forth disclaimers to affirm equal participation of eligible voters in campaigns and elections for Federal office. Establishes: (1) a clearinghouse of specified public information on political activities of foreign principals and their agents; and (2) the Independent Commission on Campaign Finance Reform. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit White House political fundraising. Expresses the sense of Congress on "controlling legal authority" concerning use of Federal property to raise campaign funds. Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criminal penalties for anyone who solicits or receives anything of value for providing a person with access to specified Federal property. Amends FECA to require political committees of national political parties (for use of Air Force One by the President, Vice President, or an executive department head) and candidates for Federal office (who don't already hold Federal office) to reimburse the Federal government for use of Government property for fundraising and campaign-related travel. Amends FECA to prohibit campaigns from providing cash to individuals to encourage turnout on election day (walking around money) Mandates imprisonment for certain FECA violations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit presidential and vice presidential candidates certified to receive public financing from coordinating expenditures for issue advocacy unless the funds used are subject to FECA. Provides for expulsion of Members of the House of Representatives convicted of violating FECA's foreign national contribution prohibitions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
School and Library Construction Affordability Act - Makes inapplicable to contracts for the construction and repair of schools and libraries the requirements of: (1) the Davis-Bacon Act (which requires that the locally prevailing wage rate be paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works); and (2) the Copeland Act (which requires the Secretary of Labor to regulate contractors and subcontractors engaged in the construction or repair of public buildings, public works, or federally-financed or federally-assisted buildings or works).
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Fishable Waters Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (the Act) to establish a program of grants to States with approved fisheries habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement programs. Permits States to designate watershed councils to carry out fisheries habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement plans. Makes projects that support or implement specific recommendations contained in a council plan eligible for financial support from a State's fisheries habitat account established pursuant to this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, to establish a community fisheries habitat revitalization program to provide for assistance to State fish and wildlife agencies for projects to improve urban watersheds and public access to such watersheds in order to restore fisheries habitat or enhance fisheries uses and provide recreational opportunities. Requires States with approved programs to establish fisheries habitat accounts for providing financial support for recommended projects. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Directors of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Geological Survey, to establish a national planning program for protection and restoration of fisheries habitat through improved floodplain management practices on major waterways. Provides for public dissemination of technical information on fisheries-related needs for instream flows. Treats Indian tribes as States for purposes of this Act. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY 2002 through 2006 under the Act for grants for: (1) nonpoint source pollution control management programs; and (2) groundwater quality protection activities to advance States toward implementation of such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that future budget resolutions and tax and spending legislation should maintain a commitment to fiscal responsibility by using agreed-upon surplus, tax, and spending figures derived from specified principles, including that the size of the surplus should exclude social security and Medicare trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any portion of the Federal budget surplus attributable to the Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund should be used exclusively for financing military retirement and survivor benefit programs of the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
National Science Education Act - Amends the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (NSFA) to establish and expand programs relating to science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. Establishes in NSF a working group to review and coordinate regular and supplemental curricula in kindergarten through the 12th grade for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Requires the NSF Director to: (1) make grants to State or local educational agencies (SEAs or LEAs) or private elementary or middle schools to hire master teachers to provide support for teachers of mathematics, science, engineering, or technology programs, and in-classroom assistance and oversight of hands-on inquiry materials, equipment, and supplies; (2) subject to appropriations, make demonstration project grants to eligible LEAs; (3) with the Secretary of Education, compile and disseminate information on standard prerequisites for middle school and high school students who seek to enter a course of study at an institution of higher education in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology education to teach in an elementary or secondary school, and State licensing requirements for such teachers; (4) make an agreement for National Academy of Sciences compilation and evaluation of studies on the effectiveness of technology in the classroom on learning and student performance; (5) establish a program under which grants may be made for instruction of teachers for grades kindergarten through the 12th grade in the use of technology in the classroom; (6) convene a National Science Education Forum; and (7) make available through the Internet a complete field-test version of any curricular program developed with NSF funds. Authorizes the Director to award grants to: (1) secondary school and college students working with university faculty, software developers, and experts in educational technology, or to such faculty, developers, and experts working with such students, to develop high-quality educational software and Internet web sites, with priority given to mathematics, science, engineering, and technology software and sites; (2) States for assisting middle school teacher training in technology, to help reach the goal of making all middle school graduates technology-literate; and (3) SEAs or LEAs or private elementary, middle, or secondary schools, under any NSF education and human resources grant program, for distance learning integration into the education process in kindergarten through the 12th grade. Directs the President, acting through the NSF, to provide scholarships to teachers at public and private schools in kindergarten through the 12th grade to participate in Federal, State, or private research programs. Requires the Director to establish an Internet web site for use by students and teachers participating in such program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
National Science Education Enhancement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), with respect to teacher professional development activities, to include support for mentoring activities for science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teachers. Includes information on model science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teacher mentoring programs among the information which the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (Clearinghouse) is required to disseminate. Includes such mentoring programs under teacher professional development program requirements for State plans, accountability reports, and local activities. Revises ESEA provisions for the allocation and use of funds for the Clearinghouse. Requires such funds to be used to: (1) solicit and gather qualitative and evaluative materials and programs, review their evaluation, rank their effectiveness, and distribute results of reviews, as well as excerpts of materials and links to Internet sites and information on-line communities of users to teachers; and (2) establish an Internet site offering a search mechanism to assist site visitors in identifying information on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education instructional materials and programs, including electronic links to information on classroom demonstrations and experiments, teachers who have used materials or participated in programs, vendors, curricula, and textbooks. Directs the Clearinghouse to give particular attention to the effective use of materials and technology in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on the Clearinghouse. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants for summer professional development institutes for teachers. Includes providing technology training software and instructional materials to teachers among local uses of ESEA school technology resource grants. Requires a portion of each ESEA 21st Century Community Learning Centers program grant to be used to provide after-school day care services that focus on science activities. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to treat technology training, tutoring teachers in the uses of classroom technology, as community service by college students under the work-study program. Increases funding for such program and reserves the amount of such increase to compensate students employed in technology training or tutoring teachers in the uses of classroom technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to study and report to Congress on specified aspects of a comprehensive approach to providing technologically competent teachers for U.S. schools.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2001- Declares that it is the policy of the United States to permit exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas resources in a designated area of the Coastal Plain Study Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to repeal the prohibition against production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and any leasing or development leading to such production. States that Congress determines that the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program and activities authorized by this Act are compatible with the purposes for which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established, and that no further findings or decisions are required to implement this determination. States that this Act is the sole authority for Coastal Plain leasing. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate a maximum total of Coastal Plain acreage as "Special Areas" and close them to leasing if the Secretary determines that they require special management and regulatory protection; and (2) permit leasing in those Special Areas by setting lease terms that restrict surface use and occupancy but permit the use of horizontal drilling technology from lease sites located outside the Special Areas. Declares that this Act constitutes the Secretary's sole authority to close Coastal Plain lands to oil and gas leasing and to exploration, development, and production. Directs the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Community Protection Act of 2001- Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Small Communities Assistance Act of 2001 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a small community advisory committee or reconstitute an existing small community advisory committee. Directs the Administrator to develop and implement a plan to increase the involvement of small communities in the regulatory review processes conducted under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, and title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. Directs each EPA regional office to establish a Small Town Ombudsman Office. Requires the Administrator to distribute to small communities a guide to Federal environmental requirements for small communities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the wholesale distributor of certain drugs who is not the manufacturer or an authorized distributor of record for a calendar year (currently, the language "for a calendar year" is not in the Act) of a drug to provide to the recipient of the drug a statement identifying each prior sale, purchase, or trade of such drug.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Firearms Heritage Protection Act of 2001 - Prohibits civil actions from being brought against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition, or a component thereof, that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce (a firearm), or a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Requires dismissal of any such action that is pending on the date of this Act's enactment. Specifies exceptions with respect to actions against persons who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, or actions brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
National Science Education Incentive Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit an eligible science, engineering, math, or technology teacher a limited credit for undergraduate tuition; and (2) permit an elementary and secondary science, mathematics, engineering, and technology credit (SMET) credit for qualified contributions of property or service to qualified elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2000
Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Beneficiary Protection Act of 2000 - Title I: Medicare Beneficiary Improvements - Subtitle A: Improved Preventive Benefits - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) coverage of biennial screening pap smear and pelvic exams; (2) coverage of screening for glaucoma; (3) coverage of screening colonoscopy for average risk individuals; (4) revision of payments and standards for screening mammography; (5) coverage of medical nutrition therapy services for beneficiaries with diabetes or a renal disease; and (6) extension of Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) coverage for workers with disabilities. Subtitle B: Other Beneficiary Improvements - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) acceleration of reduction of beneficiary copayment for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services; (2) preservation of coverage of drugs and biologicals under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (3) elimination of time limitation on Medicare benefits for immunosuppressive drugs; (4) imposition of billing limits on drugs; and (5) availability of application forms for medical assistance for Medicare cost-sharing. (Sec. 116) Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for a waiver of 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage of individuals disabled with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Subtitle C: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Outlines: (1) a Health and Human Services (HHS) demonstration project for disease management for severely chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries; (2) HHS demonstration projects for cancer prevention and treatment for ethnic and racial minorities; (3) a National Academy of Sciences study on the addition of coverage of routine thyroid screening using a thyroid stimulating hormone test as a preventive benefit provided to Medicare beneficiaries; (4) a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) study on consumer coalitions in marking Medicare+Choice (SSA title XVIII part C) plans; (5) an HHS study on the effect of limitations on State payment for Medicare cost-sharing on access to services for qualified Medicare beneficiaries; (6) HHS studies on preventive interventions in primary care for older Americans; and (7) a MEDPAC study on Medicare coverage of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation therapy services. Title II: Rural Health Care Improvements - Subtitle A: Critical Access Hospital Provisions - Amends SSA title XVII to: (1) prohibit beneficiary cost-sharing for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished by critical access hospitals; (2) increase the amount a critical access hospital may elect to be paid for outpatient critical access hospital (OCAH) services with respect to the fee schedule payment for OCAH professional services; (3) exempt critical access hospital swing beds from the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS); (4) provide for payment in critical access hospitals for emergency room on-call physicians; and (5) provide for the treatment of ambulance services furnished by certain critical access hospitals. (Sec. 206) Requires the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a study on certain eligibility requirements for critical access hospitals. Subtitle B: Other Rural Hospitals Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services to provide for: (1) application of a uniform threshold for urban and rural hospitals to be classified as disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2001; (2) adjustment of payment formulas for various specified hospitals, including hospitals that are both sole community hospitals and rural referral centers for discharges occurring during such period; (3) an option to base eligibility for the Medicare dependent, small rural hospital program on discharges during two of the three most recently audited cost reporting periods; and (4) extension of the option to use rebased target amounts to all sole community hospitals. (Sec. 214) Directs MEDPAC, in its study and report to Congress on rural providers under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, to analyze the impact of volume on the per unit cost of rural hospitals with psychiatric units, and recommend whether special treatment for such hospitals may be warranted. Subtitle C: Other Rural Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to special payment rules for particular items and services to provide transitional assistance for providers of ambulance services in rural areas. (Sec. 222) Amends SSA title XVIII part B with regard to the use of carriers for administration of benefits concerning payment for certain physician assistant services. (Sec. 223) Amends BBA'97 to: (1) set a time limit for Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services; and (2) provide for an expansion of Medicare payment for such services. (Sec. 224) Amends SSA title XVIII part B to provide for expanding access to rural health clinics. (Sec. 225) Directs MEDPAC to study the effect of low patient and procedure volume on the financial status of low-volume, isolated rural health care providers participating in Medicare. Title III: Provisions Relating to Part A - Subtitle A: Inpatient Hospital Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for elimination of the reduction in the PPS hospital payment update. (Sec. 301) Directs the Secretary, when rebasing and revising the hospital market basket index, to consider the prices of blood and blood products purchased by hospitals and to determine whether those prices are adequately reflected in such index. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment to hospitals for inpatient hospital services and updating previous standardized amounts to provide for: (1) an adjustment for inpatient case mix changes; (2) modification of the transition for indirect medical education percentage adjustment for DSHs; and (3) decreases in reductions for DSH payments. (Sec. 304) Provides for a three-year effective period for any decision of the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board to reclassify a DSH for purposes of adjusting the diagnosis-related group (DRG) prospective payment rate for hospital wage level area differences for FY 2001 or any fiscal year thereafter. Requires the Secretary to establish procedures under which a DSH hospital may elect to terminate such reclassification before the end of such period. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a process under which an appropriate statewide entity may apply to have all the geographic areas in a State treated as a single geographic area for purposes of computing and applying the area wage index; and (2) provide for the collection of data every three years on occupational mix for employees of each DSH in the provision of inpatient hospital services in order to construct an occupational mix adjustment in the applicable hospital area wage index. (Sec. 305) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to prospective payment for inpatient rehabilitation hospital services and: (1) assistance with administrative costs associated with completion of patient assessment; as well as (2) a rehabilitation facility election to apply full prospective payment rate without phase-in. (Sec. 306) Provides that, with respect to the inpatient services of psychiatric hospitals and certain psychiatric units, in making incentive payments to such hospitals for cost reporting periods from October 1, 2000, through October 1, 2001, the Secretary shall increase the percent of the target amount used in determining such payments. (Sec. 307) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for: (1) increased target amounts and caps for long-term care hospitals before implementation of the PPS required under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 for payment for inpatient hospital services provided in long-term care hospitals; (2) alternative implementation of such PPS by the Secretary based on the use of existing hospital DRGs that have been modified; and (3) increase in the base payment for Puerto Rico DSH hospitals. Subtitle B: Adjustments to PPS Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment to SNFs for routine service costs to revise updating requirements, among other changes eliminating the reduction in the skilled nursing facility market basket update in 2001. (Sec. 311) Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the adequacy of Medicare payment rates to SNFs and the extent to which Medicare contributes to the financial viability of such facilities. (Sec. 312) Directs the Secretary to increase the nursing component of the case-mix adjusted Federal prospective payment rate specified in the final rule published in the Federal Register by the Health Care Financing Administration on July 31, 2000, effective for services furnished on or after April 1, 2001, and before October 1, 2002. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct an audit for Congress of nursing staffing ratios in a representative sample of Medicare SNFs. (Sec. 313) Amends SSA title XVIII to limit application of the SNF consolidated billing requirement to a period during which the resident is provided Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) covered post-hospital extended care services. Requires the Secretary to monitor payments made under Medicare part B for items and services furnished to SNF residents during a time in which they are not being provided Medicare covered post-hospital extended care services, in order to ensure that there is not duplicate billing for services or excessive services provided. (Sec. 314) Provides that, for purposes of computing payments for certain covered SNF services, the Secretary shall increase the adjusted Federal per diem rate for covered SNF services for specified RUG-III (resource utilization group) rehabilitation groups furnished to an individual during the period in which such individual is classified in such a RUG-III category. Directs the HHS Inspector General to review the Medicare payment structure for services classified within RUGs and report to Congress on whether payment incentives exist for the delivery of inadequate care. (Sec. 315) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a procedure for the geographic reclassification of a SNF for purposes of payment for covered SNF services under the PPS for SNFs for routine service costs. Subtitle C: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a full market basket increase for hospice care for FY 2001 and 2002. (Sec. 322) Requires that the certification regarding an individual's terminal illness be based on the physician's or medical director's clinical judgment regarding the normal course of the illness. (Sec. 323) Directs MEDPAC to conduct a study on the factors affecting the use of hospice benefits under Medicare program and differences in such use between urban and rural hospice programs and based upon the presenting condition of the patient. Subtitle D: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a reduction in Medicare part A late enrollment premium increases (penalty) for a qualified State or local government retiree group in the case where a State, a local government, or an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government, determines to pay, for the life of each individual in such a group, the monthly premiums due. (Sec. 332) Outlines provisions for hospital geographic reclassification for labor costs applicable to other PPS systems and for grants to States for improvements in nursing home staffing and quality. Title IV: Provisions Relating to Part B - Subtitle A: Hospital Outpatient Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to the PPS for hospital OPD services to provide for: (1) a full market basket increase for such services for 2001; (2) adjustment for service mix changes; (3) use of categories in determining eligibility of a device for pass-through payments; (4) application of OPD PPS transitional corridor payments to certain hospitals that did not submit a 1996 cost report; (5) treatment of children's hospitals under the PPS; (6) inclusion of temperature monitored cryoablation in transitional pass-through for certain medical devices, drugs, and biologicals under the PPS; and (7) the Secretary to create additional groups of covered OPD services that classify separately those procedures that utilize contrast media from those that do not. (Sec. 404) Provides that, for purposes of making determinations of provider-based status under Medicare on or after October 1, 2000, any facility or organization that is treated as provider-based in relation to a hospital or critical access hospital under Medicare as of October 1, 2000: (1) shall continue to be treated as provider-based in relation to such hospital or critical access hospital under Medicare during the two year period beginning on October 1, 2000; and (2) the requirements, limitations, and exclusions specified in appropriate Federal regulations detailing requirements for a determination that a facility or an organization has provider-based status shall not apply to such facility or organization in relation to such hospital or critical access hospital until after the end of such two- year period. Prohibits a facility or organization for which a determination of provider-based status in relation to a hospital or critical access hospital is requested during FY 2001 or 2002 from being treated as not having such status in relation to such a hospital for any period before a determination is made with respect to such status pursuant to such request and in making a determination with respect to such status for any facility or organization in relationship to such a hospital on or after October 1, 2000, the facility or organization shall be treated as satisfying any requirements and standards for geographic location in relation to such a hospital if the facility or organization: (1) satisfies appropriate Federal regulations pertaining to location in immediate vicinity or is located not more than 35 miles from the main campus of the hospital or critical access hospital; and (2) is owned and operated by a hospital or critical access hospital that meets specified criteria. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Physicians' Services - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study on: (1) the appropriateness of furnishing in physicians' offices specialist physicians' services which are ordinarily furnished in hospital outpatient departments; and (2) the refinements to the practice expense relative value units during the transition to a resource-based practice expense system for physician payments under Medicare. (Sec. 412) Amends SSA title XVIII to require the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to test and, if proven effective, expand the use of incentives to health care groups participating in Medicare that: (1) encourage coordination of the care furnished to individuals under Medicare parts A and B by institutional and other providers, practitioners, and suppliers of health care items and services; (2) encourage investment in administrative structures and processes to ensure efficient service delivery; and (3) reward physicians for improving health outcomes. (Sec. 413) Directs the Comptroller General to study the current Medicare enrollment process for groups that retain independent contractor physicians with particular emphasis on hospital-based physicians. Subtitle C: Other Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a one-year extension of the moratorium on certain physical therapy services caps. (Sec. 421) Directs the Secretary to study the implications: (1) of eliminating the "in the room" supervision requirement for Medicare payment for services of physical therapy assistants supervised by physical therapists; and (2) of such requirement on the cap imposed under Medicare on physical therapy services. (Sec. 422) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to Medicare coverage for end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients to increase the update for dialysis services furnished on or after January 1, 2001. Directs the Secretary to: (1) collect data and develop an ESRD market basket whereby the Secretary can estimate, before the beginning of a year, the percentage by which the costs for the year of the mix of labor and nonlabor goods and services included in the ESRD composite rate will exceed the costs of such mix for the preceding year; and (2) develop a system which includes in such composite rate, to the maximum extent feasible, payment for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and drugs that are routinely used in furnishing dialysis services to Medicare beneficiaries, but which are currently separately billable by renal dialysis facilities. (Sec. 423) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for ambulance services to provide for: (1) restoration of the full consumer price index (CPI) increase for 2001; and (2) continued phase-in of the application of the payment rates under the ambulance services fee schedule in an efficient and fair manner; except that when the Secretary implements such fee schedule, such phase-in shall provide for full payment of any national mileage rate for ambulance services provided by suppliers that are paid by carriers in any of the 50 States where payment by a carrier for such services for all such suppliers in such State, before the fee schedule's implementation, did not include a separate amount for all mileage within the county from which the beneficiary is transported. (Sec. 424) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing a revised PPS for services of ambulatory surgical facilities before January 1, 2002. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 with respect to the phase-in of the PPS for ambulatory surgical centers to: (1) extend the phase-in to four years; and (2) direct the Secretary, by January 1, 2003, to incorporate data from a 1999 Medicare cost survey or a subsequent cost survey for purposes of implementing or revising such PPS. (Sec. 425) Amends SSA title XVIII, with respect to special payment rules for particular items and services, to provide for: (1) the full update for durable medical equipment, orthotics, and prosthetics in 2001; and (2) addition of special payment provisions and requirements for prosthetics and certain custom fabricated orthotic items. (Sec. 428) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the replacement of, and payment for, prosthetic devices and parts. (Sec. 429) Directs the Comptroller General to study the reimbursement for drugs and biologicals under the current Medicare payment methodology and for related services under Medicare part B, with recommendations for revised payment methodologies. Directs the Secretary to revise such payment methodology based on such recommendations. (Sec. 430) Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous) to revise the qualifications for community mental health centers under provisions defining partial hospitalization services. (Sec. 431) Makes a hospital or a free-standing ambulatory care clinic, whether operated by the Indian Health Service or by an Indian tribe or tribal organization, eligible for payments for services for which payment is made under Medicare part B for physicians' services if and for so long as it meets all of the requirements which are applicable generally to such payments, services, hospitals, and clinics. (Sec. 432) Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect on Medicare and on Medicare beneficiaries of coverage of surgical first assisting services of certified registered nurse first assistants. (Sec. 433) Directs MEDPAC to study the appropriateness of: (1) the current Medicare payment rates for services provided by a certified nurse-midwife, a physician assistant, a nurse practitioner, and a clinical nurse specialist; and (2) Medicare coverage for services provided by a surgical technologist, a marriage counselor, a marriage and family therapist, a pastoral care counselor, and a licensed professional counselor of mental health. (Sec. 435) Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the costs of providing emergency and medical transportation services across the range of acuity levels of conditions for which such transportation services are provided; (2) the post-payment audit process under Medicare as such process applies to physicians; and (3) the aggregate effects of regulatory, audit, oversight, and paperwork burdens on physicians and other health care providers participating in Medicare. (Sec. 437) Directs MEDPAC to study the barriers to coverage and payment for outpatient interventional pain medicine procedures under Medicare. Title V: Provisions Relating to Parts A and B - Subtitle A: Home Health Services - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a two-year additional delay in the application of the 15 percent reduction on payment limits for home health services. (Sec. 501) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to delay for an additional year the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services after implementation of the PPS. Requires the Comptroller General, instead of the Secretary (as currently required), to report to Congress an analysis of the need for such a reduction. Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the PPS for home health services concerning the annual update to provide for an adjustment for case mix changes. (Sec. 502) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for restoration of the full home health market basket update for home health services for FY 2001. Establishes a special rule for payment under the PPS for home health services for FY 2001 based on adjusted prospective payment amounts. (Sec. 503) Provides for a temporary two-month extension of periodic interim payments under BBA '97 in the case of a home health agency receiving periodic interim payments as of September 30, 2000. (Sec. 504) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the use of telehealth in the delivery of home health services. (Sec. 505) Directs the Comptroller General to study variations in prices paid by home health agencies furnishing home health services under Medicare in purchasing nonroutine medical supplies and volumes if such supplies used determine the effect (if any) of variations on prices and volumes in the provision of such services. (Sec. 506) Provides that, in determining for Medicare purposes whether an office of a home health agency constitutes a branch office or a separate home health agency, neither the time nor distance between a parent office of the home health agency and a branch office shall be the sole determinant of a home health agency's branch office status. (Sec. 507) Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to the Medicare home health benefit to declare that absences from home to receive medical treatment shall not disqualify an individual from such benefit. (Sec. 508) Provides for a temporary payment increase for home health services furnished in a rural area for2001 and 2002. Subtitle B: Direct Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for an increase in the floor for direct graduate medical education payments for FY 2002. (Sec. 512) Changes the distribution formula for Medicare+Choice-related nursing and allied health education costs. Subtitle C: Changes in Medicare Coverage and Appeals Process - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise the Medicare appeals process. Provides for initial determinations of entitlement and benefits by the Secretary, by a utilization and quality control peer review organization, or by an independent contractor. Provides for redeterminations of denied benefit claims. Specifies appeal rights, including the right of an individual to request a medically exigent review from the contractor who made the initial determination. (Sec. 522) Provides for the review of coverage determinations under the Medicare appeals process. Amends SSA title XI to require any advisory committee on certain Medicare coverage exclusions to: (1) assure the full participation of a nonvoting member in its deliberations; and (2) provide such nonvoting member access to all information and data (with certain exceptions) made available to the committee's voting members. Provides that, if such committee organizes into panels of experts according to types of items or services, any such panel may report directly to the Secretary without prior approval. Subtitle D: Improving Access to New Technologies - Amends SSA title XVIII to establish a new payment rule for any clinical diagnostic laboratory test performed on or after January 1, 2001, that is a new test for which no limitation amount has previously been established. (Sec. 531) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish procedures for coding and payment determinations for the categories of new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and new durable medical equipment under Medicare part B that permit public consultation in a manner consistent with the procedures established for implementing coding modifications for ICD-9-CM; and (2) report to Congress on the specific procedures used under Medicare part B to adjust payments for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests and durable medical equipment which are classified to existing codes where, because of a technology advance, there has been a significant increase or decrease in the resources used in the test or in the manufacture of the equipment, and a significant improvement in test or equipment performance. (Sec. 532) Directs the Secretary to: (1) maintain and continue through December 31, 2003, the use of level III codes of the HCPCS (Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) Common Procedure Coding System) coding system (as such system was in effect on August 16, 2000); and (2) make such codes publicly available. (Sec. 533) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on methods of expeditiously incorporating new medical services and technologies into the clinical coding system used with respect to Medicare payment for inpatient hospital services, together with a detailed description of the Secretary's preferred methods to achieve this purpose; and (2) implement such preferred methods. Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the Secretary to establish a mechanism to recognize the costs of new medical services and technologies with respect to inpatient hospital services under the hospital reimbursement control system. Subtitle E: Other Provisions - Amends SSA title XVIII to reduce from 45 percent to 30 percent the reduction in the amount of bad debts otherwise treated as allowable costs attributable to the deductibles and coinsurance amounts under Medicare for FY 2001 and subsequent fiscal years in determining the reasonable costs of outpatient hospital services (thus increasing by 15 percent the amount that may be reimbursed). (Sec. 542) Provides for the treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. (Sec. 543) Amends SSA title XI to make permanent the authority for the Secretary to issue written advisory opinions under provisions for guidance regarding application of health care fraud and abuse sanctions. (Sec. 544) Amends SSA title XVIII to make various specified changes in annual MEDPAC reporting with regard to revision of deadlines for submission of reports and on the record votes on recommendations. (Sec. 545) Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the development of standard instruments for the assessment of the health and functional status of patients, for whom specified items and services are furnished. (Sec. 546) Directs the Comptroller General to report to specified congressional committees on the effect of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act on hospitals, emergency physicians, and physicians covering emergency department call throughout the United States. (Sec. 547) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to agreements with providers of services to provide for the application of the bloodborne pathogen standard to certain hospitals. Title VI: Provisions Relating to Part C (Medicare+Choice Program) and Other Medicare Managed Care Provisions - Subtitle A: Medicare+Choice Payment Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) increase the payment amount for 2001 through 2003 for accountable Medicare+Choice coordinated care plans; and (2) provide for a ten-year phase-in of risk adjustment. (Sec. 603) Provides for a transition to revised Medicare+Choice payment rates. (Sec. 604) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for revision of payment rates for ESRD patients enrolled in Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 605) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to premiums to permit Medicare part B premium reductions as additional benefits under Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 606) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with regard to payments to Medicare+Choice organizations to: (1) ensure full implementation of risk adjustment methodology for congestive heart failure enrollees for 2001; and (2) provide for the expansion of the application of Medicare+Choice's new entry bonus. (Sec. 608) Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on a method to phase-in the costs of military facility services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and those furnished by the Department of Defense, to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in the calculation of an area's Medicare+Choice capitation payment. Subtitle B: Other Medicare+Choice Reforms - Amends SSA title XVIII part C to provide for payment of additional amounts for new Medicare+Choice benefits covered during a contract term. (Sec. 612) Prohibits the Secretary from implementing, other than at the beginning of a calendar year, regulations that impose significant regulatory requirements on a Medicare+Choice organization or plan. (Sec. 613) Provides for timely approval of marketing material that follows model marketing language, and for avoiding duplicative regulation with respect to plan requirements. (Sec. 615) Provides that, in the case of a Medicare+Choice organization that offers a Medicare+Choice plan in an area in which more than one local coverage policy is applied with respect to different parts of the area, the organization may elect to have the local coverage policy for the part of the area that is most beneficial to Medicare+Choice enrollees apply with respect to all Medicare+Choice enrollees enrolled in the plan. (Sec. 616) Requires: (1) the quality assurance program under the Medicare+Choice program to include a separate focus on racial and ethnic minorities; and (2) the Secretary to submit to Congress a report regarding how such quality assurance programs focus on racial and ethnic minorities. (Sec. 617) Authorizes the Secretary to waive or to modify requirements that hinder the design of, the offering of, or enrollment in Medicare+Choice plans under contracts between Medicare+Choice organizations and employers, labor organizations, or the trustees of a fund established by one or more employers or labor organizations (or combination thereof) to furnish benefits to the entity's employees, former employees (or combination thereof) or to members or former members (or combination thereof) of the labor organizations. (Sec. 618) Amends SSA title XVIII part D with regard to special Medicare supplemental health insurance enrollment anti-discrimination provision for certain beneficiaries. (Sec. 619) Amends SSA title XVIII part C to restore the effective date of elections and changes of elections of Medicare+Choice plans. (Sec. 620) Permits ESRD beneficiaries to enroll in another Medicare+Choice plan if the plan in which they are enrolled is terminated. (Sec. 621) Provides that, in covering post-hospital extended care services, a Medicare+Choice plan shall provide for such coverage through a home SNF if: (1) the enrollee elects to receive such coverage through such SNF; and (2) the SNF has a contract with the Medicare+Choice organization for the provision of such services, or the SNF agrees to accept substantially similar payment under the same terms and conditions that apply to similarly situated SNFs under contract with the Medicare+Choice organization through which the enrollee would otherwise receive such services. (Sec. 622) Directs HCFA's Chief Actuary to review the actuarial assumptions and data used by the Medicare+Choice organization with respect to such rates, amounts, and values to determine the appropriateness of such assumptions and data. (Sec. 623) Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for civil monetary penalties for contract default by a Medicare+Choice organization. Subtitle C: Other Managed Care Reforms - Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 to provide for a one-year extension of the social health maintenance organization demonstration project authority. (Sec. 632) Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to provide for revised terms and conditions for extension of Medicare community nursing organization demonstration project. (Sec. 633) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to provide for a two-year extension of Medicare municipal health services demonstration projects. (Sec. 634) Amends SSA title XVIII part D with regard to payments to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans and service area expansion for Medicare cost contracts during transition period. Title VII: Medicaid - Amends SSA title XIX with respect to DSH payments and: (1) continuation of Medicaid DSH allotments at FY 2000 levels for FY 2001 and 2002; and (2) a special rule for Medicaid DSH allotment for extremely low DSH States. (Sec. 701) Outlines provisions for: (1) assuring identification of Medicaid managed care patients for purposes of making DSH payments; (2) application of the Medicaid DSH transition rule to public hospitals in all States; (3) assistance for certain public hospitals; and (4) DSH payment accountability standards. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XIX to create a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics. (Sec. 703) Amends SSA XI to establish an approval process for a State's application for an extension of any State-wide comprehensive demonstration project for which a waiver of compliance with Medicaid requirements is granted. (Sec. 704) Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 with respect to Medicaid county-organized health systems. (Sec. 705) Directs the Secretary to issue a final regulation based on the proposed rule announced on October 5, 2000, that: (1) modifies the upper payment limit test applied to State Medicaid spending for inpatient hospital services, outpatient hospital services, nursing facility services, intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded, and clinic services by applying an aggregate upper payment limit to payments made to government facilities that are not State-owned or operated facilities; and (2) provides for a specified transition period. (Sec. 706) Prescribes a formula for the Federal medical assistance percentage for Alaska for purposes of SSA titles XIX and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP), which shall apply only for FY 2001 through 2005. (Sec. 707) Amends SSA title XIX to provide for optional coverage of legal immigrants under Medicaid. (Sec. 708) Makes additional entities qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 709) Provides for a one year extension of provisions on eligibility for medical assistance under Medicaid. (Sec. 710) Includes as Medicaid medical assistance any services furnished by a physician assistant which the assistant is legally authorized to perform under State law and with the supervision of a physician. (Sec. 711) Gives States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children. Title VIII: State Children's Health Insurance Program - Amends SSA title XXI to: (1) establish a rule for redistribution and extended availability of unused FY 1998 and 1999 SCHIP allotments; (2) provide authority to pay Medicaid expansion SCHIP costs from SCHIP appropriations; (3) eliminate requirement to reduce a SCHIP allotment by Medicaid expansion SCHIP costs; (4) provide authority to transfer SCHIP appropriations to the Medicaid appropriation account as reimbursement for Medicaid expenditures for Medicaid expansion SCHIP services; and (5) provide optional coverage of certain legal immigrants under SCHIP. Title IX: Other Provisions - Subtitle A: PACE Program - Amends BBA '97 with respect to programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE programs) to provide for an extension of transition for the current PACE demonstration project waiver authority. (Sec. 902) Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payments to, and coverage of benefits under, PACE programs, and regulations and use of PACE protocol to provide for the continuation of modifications or waivers of operational requirements under demonstration status. (Sec. 903) Directs the Secretary to approve or deny a request for a modification or a waiver of provisions of the PACE protocol not later than 90 days after the Secretary receives the request, in order to provide flexibility in exercising waiver authority. Permits the Secretary to exercise authority to modify or to waive such provisions in a manner that responds promptly to the needs of PACE programs relating to areas of employment and the use of community-based primary care physicians in order to provide flexibility in exercising waiver authority. Subtitle B: Outreach to Eligible Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries - Amends SSA title XI to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) conduct outreach efforts to identify individuals entitled to Medicare benefits who may be eligible for medical assistance for payment of the cost of Medicare cost-sharing under Medicaid; and (2) notify such individuals of the availability of such medical assistance. (Sec. 911) Directs the Comptroller General to study the impact of such outreach efforts on the enrollment of individuals for Medicare cost-sharing under Medicaid. Subtitle C: Maternal and Child Health Block Grant - Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to increase the authorization of appropriations for the Maternal and Child Health Services block grant for FY 2001 and each fiscal year thereafter. Subtitle D: Diabetes - Amends the Public Health Service Act to increase FY 2001 through 2003 appropriations for special diabetes programs for children with type I diabetes and for special diabetes programs for Indians. (Sec. 931) Amends BBA '97 to extend the final report on diabetes grant programs. (Sec. 932) Amends the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998 to make appropriations to the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund for FY 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2000
Calls upon the President to: (1) take all appropriate action to provide relief from injury caused by steel imports; and (2) immediately request the U.S. Trade Commission to commence an expedited investigation for positive adjustment of such steel imports under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
![Official portrait of Rep. Stenholm, Charles W. [D-TX-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000851_200.jpg)