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Bill· HRH.R. 739 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Primary Health Care Education Act of 1997 - Amends title VII (Health Professions Education) of the Public Health Service Act to require giving preference, in making grants and contracts under the title, to: (1) schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine that emphasize primary health care training and encourage selection of primary care as a career choice; and (2) entities that operate medical residency training programs that include instruction from primary care faculty and have rotations providing primary care training.
Bill· HRH.R. 738 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Myelogram-Related Arachnoiditis Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit a myelogram involving the use of Pantopaque, Amipaque, Omipacque, or Isovue. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require a study and research with respect to individuals who have undergone a myelogram and who have subsequently developed arachnoiditis.
Bill· SS. 302 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Medigap Portability Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies, providing for additional consumer protections, among them: (1) guaranteeing policy issuance (with no preexisting condition exclusions and no discrimination in pricing because of the individual's health, claims experience, or disability) to certain individuals who have had continuous coverage (or no break in coverage longer than 63 days), if the policy in which they wish to enroll has a comparable or less generous benefits package; (2) prohibiting insurers from excluding benefits based on a pre-existing condition during the initial six-month enrollment period after an individual first becomes eligible for Medicare; and (3) extending the six-month initial enrollment period to non-elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to private, independent, nonprofit consumer organizations and State agencies applying to conduct programs to prepare and make available to Medicare beneficiaries comprehensive and understandable information on enrollment in health plans with a Medicare managed care contract and in Medigap policies in which they are eligible to enroll. Requires any eligible organization with a Medicare managed care contract or any issuer of a Medigap policy to conduct a consumer satisfaction survey of the enrollees under such contract or policy, and make the results available to the Secretary and the State Insurance Commissioner of the State in which the enrollees are so enrolled. Requires each organization which provides a Medicare managed care contract or issues a Medigap policy to pay to the Secretary its pro rata share of the estimated costs to be incurred in providing the grants.
Bill· SS. 303 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Waives, with respect to Comprehensive Health Services, Inc. (doing business as The Wellness Plan) for contract periods through December 31, 2000, the (50-50) requirement under the Social Security Act (SSA) that each eligible organization with which the Secretary of Health and Human Services contracts under Medicare have, for the duration of the contract, an enrolled membership at least one-half of which consists of individuals who are not entitled to Medicare or Medicaid benefits under SSA titles XVIII and XIX, respectively.
Bill· HRH.R. 689 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Primary Care Promotion Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to direct graduate medical education for residents enrolled in combined approved primary care medical residency training programs. Provides for full-time-equivalent resident reimbursement for an additional year beyond the minimum number of years of formal training required to satisfy the requirements for initial board eligibility in the longest of the individual programs. Declares that a resident enrolled in a combined medical residency training program that includes an obstetrics and gynecology program qualifies for the period of board eligibility under this Act if the other programs such resident combines with such obstetrics and gynecology program are for training a primary care resident.
Bill· HRH.R. 676 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit the late enrollment penalty to a ten percent increase in the monthly part B premium due over a period equal to twice the number of years that the part B beneficiary could have been but was not enrolled under part B.
Bill· HRH.R. 686 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Provides for a three-year extension of certain Medicare community nursing organization demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 48 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that studies are needed to further determine the benefits of screening women between the ages of 40 and 49 for breast cancer through mammograms and other emerging technologies and that the House urges the Advisory Panel for the National Cancer Institute to: (1) consider reissuing a specified guideline rescinded in 1993; or (2) direct the public to consider guidelines issued by other organizations until there is more definitive data.
Bill· SS. 292 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1997
Ambulance Services Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to ensure Medicare reimbursement of ambulance services rendered in an emergency to transport an individual to a clinic or an ambulatory surgical center.
Bill· HRH.R. 625 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1997
Medigap Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to certification of Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) policies, particularly coverage for pre-existing conditions, providing for additional consumer protections for certain individuals whose enrollment with an eligible organization ceases for one or more specified reasons. Prohibits a Medigap policy issuer from denying or conditioning a policy to such an individual, from imposing preexisting condition exclusions, and from discriminating in pricing because of the individual's health, claims experience, or disability in the case of such an individual who has had continuous coverage (with no break longer than 63 days), if the policy in which the individual wishes to enroll has a comparable or less generous benefits package. Revises the prohibition against an insurer's excluding benefits based on a pre-existing condition during the initial six-month enrollment period after an individual first becomes eligible for Medicare. Extends the six-month initial enrollment period to non-elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to private, independent, nonprofit consumer organizations and State agencies applying to conduct programs to prepare and make available to Medicare beneficiaries comprehensive and understandable information on enrollment in health plans with a Medicare managed care contract and in Medigap policies in which they are eligible to enroll. Requires any eligible organization with a Medicare managed care contract or any issuer of a Medigap policy to: (1) conduct a consumer satisfaction survey of the enrollees under such contract or such policy; and (2) make the survey results available to the Secretary and the State Insurance Commissioner of the State in which the enrollees are so enrolled. Requires each organization which provides a Medicare managed care contract or issues a Medigap policy to pay to the Secretary its pro rata share of the estimated costs to be incurred by the Secretary in providing the grants. Makes necessary appropriations.
Bill· SS. 268 (105th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
National Parks Overflights Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration recommendations (including a joint proposal for incentives for the use of quiet aircraft technology and a schedule for commercial air tour fleet conversion to such technology) for actions necessary to protect public health and safety and natural resources from adverse effects associated with aircraft overflights at national parks. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) establish minimum flight altitudes to include in the recommendations; and (2) prohibit overflights below such minimum altitudes in any national park to restore or preserve quiet. Directs the Administrator, after receipt of recommendations and notice and opportunity for hearing, to issue a final plan for the management of air traffic over national parks: (1) experiencing adverse impacts associated with noise from aircraft overflights; or (2) for which air tours need to be regulated in order to prevent resource impairment from overflights.
Bill· SS. 264 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Medicare Whistleblower Act of 1997 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to allow Medicare beneficiaries to submit a written request to program providers for an itemized bill of items and services received from them. Permits such beneficiaries to further request a review of such a bill for any billing irregularities by the appropriate fiscal intermediary or carrier under contract to administer Medicare benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require such entities to take all appropriate measures to recover amounts inappropriately paid because of such irregularities. Subjects providers submitting fraudulent billings to a certain civil money penalty in addition to any other penalties that may be prescribed by law. Provides for antifraud incentive payments (out of collected penalties) to Medicare beneficiaries who request itemized billings later found to contain irregularities of a negligent or fraudulent nature.
Bill· SS. 267 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Reduction In Medicare Overpayment Costs Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for the imposition of administrative fees for the failure of a Medicare provider to refund to the Secretary of Health and Human Services any amount by which prospective payment to the provider has exceeded actual costs by 30 percent or more (overpayment collection); and (2) require automated prepayment screening by fiscal intermediaries and carriers of a select portion of Medicare diagnoses that the Health Care Financing Administration has determined frequently result in overpayment under the program.
Bill· HRH.R. 586 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Patient Right to Know Act - Prohibits any contract or agreement, or the operation of any contract or agreement, between an entity operating a health plan (including any partnership, association, or other organization that enters into or administers such a contract or agreement) and a health care provider (or group of health care providers) from prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with his or her patient. Requires that each State shall enforce this Act with respect to health insurance issuers that sell, renew, or offer health plans in the State. Provides for enforcement of this Act by the Secretary of Health and Human Services if the Secretary, after consultation with the chief executive officer of a State and the insurance commissioner or chief insurance regulatory official of the State, determines that the State has failed to substantially enforce the requirements. Mandates a civil money penalty. Allows State requirements equal to or more protective of medical communications than the requirements of this Act. Defines "medical communication" as a communication between a provider and a patient (or the patient's guardian or legal representative) regarding the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment options.
Bill· HRH.R. 617 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Mammogram Availability Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, that provides coverage for diagnostic mammographies for any woman 40 years old or older to provide coverage for annual screening mammographies for such a woman. Prohibits related enrollment and renewal discrimination, monetary incentives to women, and penalties or incentives to providers. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those requirements and prohibitions to coverage offered by an issuer in the individual market. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment for annual screening mammographies for women over 39 (currently, over 49 but under 65) years old. Removes provisions empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise the screening frequency for which payment may be made. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require payment for annual screening mammographies for women over 39 years old.
Bill· HRH.R. 598 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of certain military retirees and dependents, to provide for a special open enrollment period during which such an individual may enroll under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act without being assessed a late enrollment penalty. Prohibits an issuer of a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy, in the case of such an individual who seeks to enroll during such special enrollment period, from denying or conditioning the issuance or effectiveness of such a policy, or from discriminating in its pricing on the basis of the individual's health status, medical condition, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical history, genetic information, evidence of insurability, or disability.
Bill· HRH.R. 585 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Rehabilitation Hospitals and Units Medicare Payment Equity Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for prospective payment for inpatient rehabilitation hospital services based on discharges classified by functional-related groups.
Bill· HRH.R. 616 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to require certain group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing coverage under a group plan, to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) secondary consultations by specialists. Prohibits: (1) changing coverage terms and conditions based on a participant's or beneficiary's decision to request less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers or specialists. Amends: (1) the Public Health Service Act to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market; and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to apply those requirements to group health plans.
Bill· HRH.R. 621 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Parity for Treatment of Mental Illness Title II: Medicare Mental Health Improvement National Mental Health Parity Act of 1997 - Title I: Parity for Treatment of Mental Illness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on the applicable issuer a tax equal to 25 percent of a health plan's premiums received during the calendar year if the plan imposes limitations or financial requirements on the coverage of benefits provided with respect to any of specified psychiatric conditions (described in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), while similar limitations or requirements are not imposed on coverage of benefits with respect to other conditions. Provides similar obligations and sanctions with respect to group health plan parity for treatment of mental illness. Title II: Medicare Mental Health Improvement - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to restructure the mental health benefit, including: (1) coverage under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) of inpatient hospital services furnished primarily for the diagnosis or treatment of mental illness or substance abuse for up to 60 days during a year, as well as coverage of intensive residential services furnished to an individual for up to 120 days during a year; (2) lower co-payments for certain outpatient mental health and substance abuse services; (3) waiver of co-payment for case management services furnished to a seriously mentally ill adult, a seriously emotionally disturbed child, or an adult or child with serious substance abuse disorder; (4) case management services for an unlimited duration for such individuals; (5) provision of items and services furnished under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for the treatment of mental illness or emotional disturbances according to standards established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; (6) a new category of intensive community-based services covering, among other services, current partial hospitalization services as well as psychiatric rehabilitation services, in-home services, and day treatment for substance abuse for individuals of any age and for other mental health services for individuals under age 19; (7) mandatory authorization under State law or certification by an appropriate accreditation entity (approved by the State in consultation with the Secretary) for intensive community-based services programs (whether facility-based or freestanding); and (8) supervision of individualized treatment programs by non-physician mental health professionals to the extent permitted under State law.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 40 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that studies are needed to further determine the benefits of screening women between the ages of 40 and 49 through mammography and other emerging technologies and that the House urges the Advisory Panel for the National Cancer Institute to consider reissuing a specified guideline rescinded in 1993 and, until there is more definitive data, direct the public to consider guidelines issued by other organizations.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 47 (105th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the Senate that studies are needed to further determine the benefits of screening women between the ages of 40 and 49 through mammography and other emerging technologies and that the Senate urges the Advisory Panel for the National Cancer Institute to consider reissuing a specified guideline rescinded in 1993 and, until there is more definitive data, direct the public to consider guidelines issued by other organizations.
Bill· HRH.R. 582 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Medicare Hospital Outpatient Reform Act of 1997 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate formula-driven overpayments for certain outpatient hospital services; and (2) provide for a prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department services.
Bill· HRH.R. 521 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover any other item or service which is specified in the plan and for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
Bill· HRH.R. 575 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Provides coverage under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) for an unremarried former spouse of a member or former member of the armed forces who performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable service and who was married to the former spouse for at least 17 years during the period of such creditable service. Provides eligibility for the use of commissary stores for such former spouses.
Bill· HRH.R. 556 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Eating Disorders Information and Education Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program of information and public education concerning the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 558 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Women's Right To Know Act of 1997 - Amends title XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit a governmental authority, in or through any program or activity that provides health care services or information, from limiting the right of any person to provide or to receive nonfraudulent information about the availability of reproductive health care services, including family planning, prenatal care, adoption, and abortion services.
Bill· HRH.R. 561 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Children Health Insurance Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, to: (1) require group health plans and health insurers to provide access to coverage for a participant's or beneficiary's qualifying children; and (2) impose a noncompliance excise tax. Provides a tax credit, subject to limitations based on adjusted gross income, for an individual who purchases child health care coverage. Provides, as specified, for the payment by an employer of an additional payment to an employee's children's health insurance credit advance amount. Sets forth a reporting requirement relating to premiums received for health insurance coverage for children. Prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee eligible for the credit. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require a State plan to provide cost-sharing assistance for qualifying children in a family with income below 150 percent of the poverty line. Provides for grants to States to operate health insurance outreach and information programs concerning access to the benefits and coverage provided by this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 566 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Medigap Protection Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the issuer of a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy to provide for certain enrollment periods during which an individual who is enrolled in a Medicare select policy, and who would be eligible to enroll under the issuer's Medigap policy at the time the individual became (or becomes) 65 years of age, may elect without prejudice coverage under any of the issuer's Medigap policies as a replacement for the Medicare select policy.
Bill· HRH.R. 554 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the formulae for payments to health maintenance organizations and competitive medical plans. Provides for a metropolitan based system under which: (1) all portions of each metropolitan statistical area in a State are treated as a single Medicare payment area; and (2) all areas in that State that do not fall within a metropolitan statistical area are treated as a single Medicare payment area. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine the annual per capita rate of payment for each Medicare payment area by adjusting the adjusted capitation rate for: (1) individuals (not, as currently, a class of individuals) who are enrolled with an eligible organization which has entered into a risk-sharing contract and who are enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) only; and (2) such risk factors as age, disability status, gender, institutional status, and other appropriate factors so as to ensure actuarial equivalence. Requires the Secretary to establish a separate rate of payment to an eligible organization with respect to any individual determined to have end-stage renal disease and enrolled with the organization. Prescribes a general formula for the adjusted capitation rate of a Medicare payment area based on an area-specific adjusted capitation rate and an input-price-adjusted national adjusted capitation rate. Specifies area-specific and national percentages for contract years 1998 through 2001 and after. Requires the Secretary, upon written request of the Chief Executive Officer of a State for a contract year, to adjust the system under which Medicare payment areas in the State are otherwise determined to a system which: (1) has a single Statewide Medicare payment area; (2) is a metropolitan based system; or (3) consolidates into a single Medicare payment area noncontiguous counties (or equivalent areas) within the State.
Bill· HRH.R. 524 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Safe Medications Act of 1997 - Requires any health care facility in which an error in the prescribing, dispensing, or administration of a drug results in an individual's death, to report such error and resulting death to a data bank to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Secretary to review reported information to determine trends relating to drugs and to report to the compiler of the official compendia for consideration of revisions of packaging and labeling requirements or other standards for drugs for dissemination to health professionals. Imposes fines for reporting to or requesting information from the data bank unlawfully. Prescribes penalties for failing to make required reports. Amends the Social Security Act to exclude any individual or entity for noncompliance with this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 560 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Healthy Start Act of 1997 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXI (Healthy Start), incorporating certain current SSA title XI peer review and fraud and abuse provisions. Establishes an entitlement program of health insurance for eligible children under age 18 and mothers-to-be who are not covered under a qualified health plan. Outlines the scope of benefits for such individuals, which generally consist of the same available under SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to individuals entitled under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), plus a benefit for prescription drugs and biologicals necessary to meet any catastrophic costs for them. Includes well child services and pre- and post-natal care provided to such children and women, respectively, without the application of deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments. Entitles to benefits as both a child and a pregnant woman any individual entitled to program benefits as either the one or the other. Creates in the Treasury the Children Health Insurance Trust Fund. Makes necessary appropriations to it out of the premium tax imposed by this Act for use in financing the Healthy Start program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose: (1) a premium tax on certain individuals covered by the Healthy Start program, with exceptions for certain low-income families, in order to cover uninsured children and mothers-to-be; and (2) certain reporting requirements with regard to qualified health plans (and certain penalties to enforce them).
Bill· HRH.R. 557 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Postreproductive Health Care Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for: (1) prevention and outpatient treatment of, and counseling for, health conditions unique to, more serious, or more prevalent for, women of menopausal age or older, or for which, in the case of women, the medical risk factors or types of medical intervention are different; and (2) related education and training of health professionals. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 541 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Prohibits a State from discriminating against a dental health care professional on the basis that such individual is a resident of another State or is licensed to perform dental services in another State when considering such individual's application for a license to perform such services. Authorizes aggrieved individuals and the Attorney General to bring civil actions against States violating such prohibition.
Bill· HRH.R. 516 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Youth Smoking Prevention Act of 1997 - Declares that the Secretary of Health and Human Services does not have any authority under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, or the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to regulate the manufacture, labeling, sale, distribution, and advertising and promotion of tobacco and other tobacco products containing nicotine. Establishes the Federal authority to regulate the sale, distribution, and advertising and promotion of tobacco and tobacco products containing nicotine as a condition to the receipt by a State of the Federal preventive health and health services block grant. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit or reduce the amount of block grants for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse based on whether a State has a law prohibiting: (1) sale of tobacco or tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18; (2) purchase of those materials by such individuals; (3) use of false identification for the purchase of those materials; (4) sale of individual cigarettes and packages of fewer than 20 cigarettes; (5) operation of a vending machine dispensing such materials unless specified requirements are met; (6) use of unsupervised self-service displays; (7) distribution of free samples to such individuals; and (8) distribution through the mail to such individuals. Sets forth general requirements regarding the sale of such materials and related notice by the owner to the employees of a retail establishment. Prohibits engaging in the retail sale of cigarettes without a license issued by the State. Sets forth State responsibilities. Regulates billboard advertising. Prohibits the placement of a tobacco manufacturer's brand name or logo on any item marketed specifically to minors, including toys and video games. Allows use of amounts available under such block grants to enforce the laws described in this Act.
Bill· SS. 246 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Choice Care Program Title II: Medicare Medical Savings Accounts Medicare Improvement and Choice Care Provision Act - Title I: Choice Care Program - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to outline a new Medicare part D (Choice Care) program involving Federal contracts with both private indemnity or fee-for-service plans and private managed or coordinated care plans (including health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organization plans). (Sec. 101) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make monthly advance payments to such a plan with respect to an individual enrollee of either a monthly choice care value amount (determined according to a specified formula) or of a monthly premium, whichever is less. Requires the Secretary to pay each eligible individual 75 percent of any excess over the plan premium of the weighted average of the choice care value amounts with respect to all individuals in a reimbursement area (rebate amounts), with the remainder of the excess amount deposited in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance). Bans choice care plans from providing any services related to assisted suicide. Title II: Medicare Medical Savings Accounts - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide under the Medicare Choice Care program for Medicare medical savings accounts (MSAs) for deposit of (income-excludible) rebate amounts, contributions by the account holder, and by the Secretary and others on behalf of the account holder, as well as deposit of certain rollover contributions, to cover the account holder's qualified medical expenses for medical care, with special rules for account distributions and reports.
Bill· SS. 238 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Medicare Coverage of Certain Ambulance Services Title II: Ambulance Services Advisory Group for the Health Care Financing Administration Title III: Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services Title IV: Data Collection and Administration by Department of Transportation Emergency Medical Services Efficiency Act of 1997 - Title I: Medicare Coverage of Certain Ambulance Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to ensure Medicare reimbursement for ambulance services rendered as a result of the sudden onset of a medical condition manifested by symptoms believed to be serious but whose ultimate diagnosis results in the conclusion that the ambulance services were not necessary. Title II: Ambulance Services Advisory Group for the Health Care Financing Administration - Establishes the Health Care Financing Administration Advisory Group for Ambulance Services to study and report to the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration on all matters relating to the provision of ambulance services under the Medicare program. Title III: Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services - Establishes the Federal Advisory Council for Emergency Ambulance Services to study and report to the Secretaries of Labor and of Commerce and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) on workplace conditions and safety requirements with regard to employees who provide emergency ambulance services, as well as related management planning and transportation functions of FEMA and the Department of Transportation. Title IV: Data Collection and Administration by Department of Transportation - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop and report to the Congress a proposal for transferring to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration any transportation-related functions of any other Federal agency concerning emergency medical services, with certain exceptions for the Department of Defense and those functions related to a Federal health care program. Establishes in the Department of Transportation the Office of Emergency Medical Services Data Collection to serve as a clearinghouse for data collected in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation for establishing a requirement for uniform collection, on a nationwide basis, of data relating to the provision of emergency medical services.
Bill· SS. 249 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to require certain group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing coverage under a group plan, to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) secondary consultations by specialists. Prohibits: (1) changing coverage terms and conditions based on a participant's or beneficiary's decision to request less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers or specialists. Amends: (1) the Public Health Service Act to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market; and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to apply those requirements to group health plans.
Bill· SS. 237 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Retail Competition Title II: Public Utility Holding Companies Title III: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act Title IV: Environmental Protection Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1997 - Title I: Retail Competition - Sets December 15, 2003, as the date beginning which: (1) each consumer shall have the right to purchase retail electric energy from any offeror; and (2) all sellers of such energy shall have reasonable and nondiscriminatory access, on an unbundled basis, to the local distribution and retail transmission facilities of retail electric energy providers and all related services. (Sec. 104) Permits State authorities and nonregulated providers to implement the program before such dateline. Sets forth guidelines for: (1) State regulatory authority; (2) recovery of stranded costs by a retail electric energy provider; (3) recovery of stranded costs by a multistate utility company; and (4) universal service for specified consumers. (Sec. 110) Sets forth a statutory framework for retail electric energy suppliers to comply with Renewable Energy Credit requirements. (Sec. 111) Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish the broadest feasible transmission regions and designate an Independent System Operator to manage and operate it in each region by a specified deadline. Authorizes each State that is part of a transmission region, after an Independent System Operator has been designated for such region, to elect to join a Regional Transmission Oversight Board. (Sec. 112) Declares that nothing in this Act is intended to permit retail electric energy providers to recover in their distribution and retail transmission rates any costs associated with unregulated activities. (Sec. 113) Amends the Federal Power Act to: (1) prohibit a public utility from acquiring the facilities or securities of a natural gas utility company unless FERC finds such acquisition is in the public interest; and (2) direct FERC to prohibit a retail electric energy supplier or provider from using its ownership or control of resources to maintain a situation inconsistent with effective competition among retail and wholesale electric suppliers. (Sec. 114) Obligates retail and wholesale electric energy suppliers and providers owning nuclear generating units before the enactment of this Act to recover from their customers all reasonable nuclear decommissioning costs. (Sec. 115) Grants all retail and wholesale electric energy suppliers the right to sell to customers of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Title II: Public Utility Holding Companies - Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. (Sec. 204) Retains Federal and State access to books and records of public utility holding companies and their associate companies. (Sec. 206) Empowers FERC and State regulatory bodies to determine whether a public utility company may recover in rates any costs of goods and services acquired from an associate company after a specified date. Authorizes a State regulatory body to examine the prudence of interaffiliate power transactions among public utilities. Title III: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act - Declares the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 governing cogeneration and small power production inapplicable to public utility facilities beginning commercial operations after the enactment of this Act. States that no public utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or sell electric energy after the effective date of this title or, if earlier, the date on which retail electric competition is implemented in all of its service territories. Title IV: Environmental Protection - Instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress on the implications of differences in air pollution emissions standards for wholesale and retail electric generation competition and for public health and the environment.
Bill· SS. 219 (105th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1997
Value-added Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 1997 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative (USTR), by 30 days after the annual National Trade Estimate is due, to identify those foreign countries that: (1) deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. value-added agricultural products, or that apply standards to such imports that are not related to public health concerns (or cannot be substantiated by reliable analytical methods); and (2) are priority foreign countries (which engage in the most egregious acts, policies, or practices that deny market access to, or whose acts, policies, or practices have the greatest adverse impact on, U.S. value-added agricultural products). Prescribes certain requirements with respect to the identification of such countries. Requires the USTR to report annually to specified congressional committees on actions taken, and on progress made, in achieving market access for U.S. value-added agricultural products. Authorizes the USTR, with respect to the identification of such foreign countries, to request that the Secretary of Agriculture direct the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture to review certifications for the facilities of such countries that export meat and other agricultural products to the United States.
Bill· SS. 225 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1997
Sunshine in Litigation Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal judicial code to require a court to enter an order (under rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure) restricting the disclosure of information obtained through discovery or restricting access to court records in a civil case only after making particularized findings of fact that: (1) such order would not restrict the disclosure of information which is relevant to the protection of public health or safety; or (2) the public interest in disclosure of potential health or safety hazards is clearly outweighed by a specific and substantial interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the information or records in question and the requested protective order is no broader than necessary to protect the privacy interest asserted. Provides that: (1) no such order shall continue in effect after the entry of final judgment unless at or after such entry the court makes a separate particularized finding of fact that such requirements have been met; (2) the party who is the proponent for entry of the order shall have the burden of proof; (3) no agreement between or among parties in a civil action filed in a court of the United States may contain a provision that prohibits or otherwise restricts a party from disclosing any information relevant to such civil action to any Federal or State agency with authority to enforce laws regulating an activity related to such information; and (4) any such information disclosed to a Federal or State agency shall be confidential to the extent provided by law.
Bill· SS. 224 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1997
Amends Federal provisions concerning the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to direct the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to enter into an agreement under which covered CHAMPUS beneficiaries who are also entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be permitted to enroll in a health benefits plan offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits program in lieu of receiving care under CHAMPUS or the TRICARE program. Outlines provisions concerning: (1) required contributions for such coverage; and (2) the management of participants in the plan. Requires: (1) the Secretary to begin to offer such health benefits option no later than January 1, 1998; and (2) the Secretary and the OPM Director to report annually to the Congress describing the provision of health care services to covered beneficiaries under the plan during the preceding fiscal year.
Bill· SS. 201 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1997
Tobacco Products Control Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (with regard to cigarettes) and the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 (with regard to smokeless tobacco products) to make unlawful, subject to exceptions: (1) advertising on certain outdoor billboards; (2) advertising in publications having more than 15 percent of their total subscribership under 18 years old; (3) advertising in any arena or stadium where amateur or professional sporting events or activities occur; (4) payments for the use of a trade or brand name of a non- tobacco product as the trade or brand name for a cigarette or a smokeless tobacco product; (5) advertising in public transportation vehicles, terminals, or platforms; (6) product placement (paid for by a manufacturer) as a prop in any general public motion picture; and (7) placement of a brand name or logo in a video, on a video game machine, or in a family amusement center. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit or reduce, starting in FY 1997, formula grants to States for prevention and treatment of substance abuse unless the State has a law: (1) prohibiting the sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 and requiring official photographic identification for transactions involving an individual who appears to be under the age of 26; (2) regulating in specified ways cigarette or smokeless tobacco product vending machines; (3) prohibiting the distribution without charge of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products or the distribution of coupons redeemable for cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products; (4) prohibiting the sale or distribution of non-tobacco merchandise related to cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products; (5) prohibiting product displays open to non-employees; and (6) prohibiting retailers from opening packages and selling or distributing quantities smaller than the smallest package. Allows amounts from the formula grants to be used to enforce such State laws. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to declare that nothing in the FDCA or any other Act shall provide the Food and Drug Administration with any authority to regulate in any manner tobacco or tobacco products.
Bill· SS. 193 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: General Research Requirements Title II: Classified Research Human Research Subject Protections Act of 1997 - Title I: General Research Requirements - Applies the requirements of specified provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations (common rule protections) to research conducted by research facilities using human subjects. Requires that the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services handle human subject protection, either through establishment in the Secretary's Office of the Office for Protection of Human Research Subjects or through reassignment to the Secretary's Office of the Office for Protection from Research Risks. Requires research facilities, in order to conduct research using human subjects, to have a registration with the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out inspections or investigations to determine whether any facility has violated or is violating this Act. Amends the Federal Criminal Code to mandate fines or imprisonment (or both) for assault, resistance, interference, etc., regarding the performance of official duties under this Act. Provides for suspension of registration for suspected violations and suspension or revocation of registration and fines or imprisonment for violations. Title II: Classified Research - Prohibits the expenditure of Federal funds for the conduct of any classified research (research involving human subjects that is authorized under certain criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret) where a board has waived informed consent as defined in the common rule protections or where a determination has been made that the research is exempt from board review. Requires that, in addition to the common rule protections, subjects be informed: (1) of the identity of the Federal agency providing funds; (2) that the research involves classified information; and (3) regarding an unclassified description of the purpose of the research.
Bill· SS. 187 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1997
Federal Adoption Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to permit family planning projects to offer adoption services. Requires such services to be nondiscriminatory as to race, color, religion, or national origin.
Bill· SS. 10 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Juvenile Justice Reform Title II: Juvenile Gangs Title III: Juvenile Crime Control and Accountability Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Act of 1997 - Title I: Juvenile Justice Reform - Repeals code provisions regarding surrender of juveniles to State authorities by Federal authorities. (Sec. 102) Requires that a juvenile age 14 or older who is alleged to have committed an act that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense, be tried as an adult at the discretion of the U.S. Attorney in the appropriate jurisdiction upon a finding, which shall not be subject to court review, that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case or the offense to warrant the exercise of Federal jurisdiction, if the juvenile is charged with a Federal offense that is a crime of violence or that involves a controlled substance for which the penalty is at least five years' imprisonment. Permits the U.S. Attorney, upon declining prosecution of the charged person as a juvenile, to refer the matter to the appropriate legal authorities of the State or Indian tribe. Directs that offenses tried in U.S. district court under this Act be open to the public, with exceptions (but makes the defendant's status as a juvenile, absent other factors, insufficient to close the proceeding). Grants the U.S. Attorney, in making determinations concerning juvenile prosecution, complete access to prior Federal juvenile records and, to the extent permitted by State law, prior State juvenile records. (Sec. 103) Lowers the minimum age at which a defendant may be sentenced to death from age 18 to 16. (Sec. 106) Subjects a juvenile tried as an adult to code provisions regarding detention, speedy trial, and restitution applicable to adults. Specifies that no juvenile sentenced to a term of imprisonment shall be released from custody simply because the juvenile reaches age 18. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the release of juvenile records to meet inquiries from any school or other educational institution to ensure public safety and security. (Sec. 110) Requires the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that juveniles who are alleged or determined to be delinquent are not confined in any institution in which the juvenile has regular sustained physical contact with adult persons who are detained or confined. (Sec. 111) Applies to juvenile defendants tried as adults provisions directing the Commission, under specified circumstances, to assure that the Federal sentencing guidelines specify a sentence to a term of imprisonment at or near the maximum term authorized. Title II: Juvenile Gangs - Federal Gang Violence Act - Directs the Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate enhancement, increasing the offense level by not less than six levels, for any offense committed in connection with, or in furtherance of, the activities of a criminal street gang where the defendant was a member of such gang at the time of the offense. (Sec. 203) Amends code provisions regarding criminal street gangs to: (1) delete the definition of "conviction"; (2) redefine "criminal street gang" to cover a group whose members have engaged during the previous five-year period in a pattern of criminal gang activity; and (3) define "pattern of criminal gang activity" to mean the commission of two or more predicate gang crimes in connection with the activities of a criminal street gang, on separate occasions, at least one of which crimes was committed after the date of this title's enactment and the first of which was committed not more than five years before the commission of another predicate gang crime. Defines "predicate gang crime" as an offense, including an act of juvenile delinquency that, if committed by an adult, would be: (1) a Federal offense that is a crime of violence, that involves a controlled substance for which the penalty is at least five years' imprisonment, or that is a violation of other specified prohibitions under the code or under the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) a State offense involving conduct that would constitute such an offense if Federal jurisdiction existed or had been exercised; or (3) a conspiracy, attempt, or solicitation to commit such offenses. Sets penalties for engaging in a pattern of criminal gang activity. (Sec. 204) Amends the Travel Act to increase: (1) penalties for violations; and (2) the scope of unlawful activities under such Act. (Sec. 205) Prohibits and sets penalties for soliciting or recruiting persons to participate in criminal street gang activity. (Sec. 206) Makes: (1) crimes involving the recruitment of persons to participate in criminal street gangs, and acts or conspiracies to violate firearms laws, predicate offenses under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act; and (2) serious juvenile drug offenses predicate offenses under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Increases penalties for firearms prohibitions, including by setting a three-year minimum term of imprisonment for transferring firearms to minors for use in crime. (Sec. 208) Directs the Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentencing enhancement, increasing the offense level not less than two levels, for any crime in which the defendant used body armor. (Sec. 209) Authorizes appropriations to hire Assistant U.S. Attorneys and attorneys in criminal division of the Department of Justice to prosecute juvenile criminal street gangs. Title III: Juvenile Crime Control and Accountability - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to direct the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Crime Control and Accountability (replacing the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) to develop objectives, priorities, and short- and long-term plans, and implement overall policy and a strategy to carry out such plan, for all Federal juvenile crime control and juvenile offender accountability programs and activities relating to improving juvenile crime control and enhancing accountability by offenders within the juvenile justice system. Sets forth provisions regarding plan contents, annual reviews of plans, duties of the Administrator, budget proposal development and submission, reporting, reprogramming, and recordkeeping requirements, utilization of information, services, and facilities of other agencies, coordination of functions, and annual juvenile delinquency development statements. Directs the Administrator to make grants to States to assist them in planning, establishing, operating, coordinating, and evaluating: (1) projects for the development of more effective investigation, prosecution, and punishment of crimes or acts of delinquency committed by juveniles; (2) programs to improve the administration of justice for and ensure accountability by juvenile offenders; and (3) programs to reduce the risk factors associated with juvenile crime or delinquency. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) use of grant funds, eligibility requirements, distribution of sums by State offices to eligible applicants, applications to State offices, funding period, grant renewal, and special grants; and (2) allocation of grant amounts. Prohibits reallocation of sums due to the ineligibility or nonparticipation of any State. Limits the use of grant funds, including a prohibition against the use of such funds for: (1) biomedical or behavior control experimentation on individuals or research involving such experimentation; (2) construction, with exceptions; (3) job training; (4) specified lobbying activities; (5) and specified legal actions. Prohibits the Federal Government and States receiving funds from discriminating against religious organizations under specified circumstances. Sets penalties for violating prohibitions under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Allocates funds. Requires States, to receive formula grants, to submit plans which meet specified requirements, such as designation of a State agency as the sole agency for supervising the preparation and administration of the plan, and providing for an analysis of juvenile crime problems and juvenile justice and delinquency prevention needs within the relevant jurisdiction. Sets forth provisions regarding approval of State plans by the State agency and by the Administrator, and reduction of allocations if a State fails to comply with requirements of this title. (Sec. 303) Amends the JJDPA to: (1) reauthorize appropriations for runaway and homeless youth and missing children programs; and (2) repeal provisions regarding incentive grants for local delinquency prevention programs. (Sec. 307) Repeals: (1) specified provisions of titles III (Crime Prevention), V (Drug Courts), and XXVII (Presidential Summit on Violence and National Commission on Crime Prevention and Control) of Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; (2) the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994; (3) the School Dropout Assistance Act; (4) specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act providing for grants to public and nonprofit private entities for projects to demonstrate effective models for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of drug abuse and alcohol abuse among high risk youth; (5) specified programs under the Human Services Reauthorization Act and the Community Services Block Grants Act; and (6) specified provisions of Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 concerning the drug abuse education and prevention program relating to youth gangs and the program for runaway and homeless youth. (Sec. 308) Requires each State to reserve not more than 30 (currently, 15) percent of the amount of funds allocated in a fiscal year for counties and units of local government to construct, develop, expand, modify, or improve jails and other correctional facilities. (Sec. 309) Requires that a surcharge of 40 percent of the principal amount of a civil monetary penalty be added to each monetary penalty assessed by the United States or any agency thereof at the time the penalty is assessed, except for penalties assessed under the Internal Revenue Code, to be used for Federal programs to combat youth violence.
Bill· SS. 126 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Education Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to programs of physical therapy and occupational therapy for planning and implementing projects to recruit and retrain physical and occupational therapy faculty and students, develop curriculum, support the distribution of practitioners in underserved areas, or support the continuing development of these professions. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 24 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Health Care Coverage for Children Title II: Health Care Insurance Coverage Title III: Primary and Preventive Care Services Title IV: Patient's Right to Decline Medical Treatment Title V: Primary and Preventive Care Providers Title VI: Cost Containment Title VII: Tax Incentives for Purchase of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance Title VIII: National Fund for Health Research Health Care Assurance Act of 1997 - Title I: Health Care Coverage for Children - Healthy Kids Pilot Program Act of 1997 - Mandates grants to a State for planning and establishing a pilot program to provide vouchers to eligible children to enable the children to enroll in a health plan offered in the State. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a payment to each participating State for (unless appropriations are insufficient) 100 percent of the voucher cost and five percent of administration expenses. (Sec. 107) Ties eligibility to: (1) income, excluding children who are eligible for medical assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; (2) age; and (3) citizenship or lawful permanent residency. Regulates voucher amounts. (Sec. 109) Establishes the Healthy Kids Trust Fund. Appropriates amounts from the Fund to carry out this Act. (Sec. 111) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to modify license application competitive bidding requirements. Requires the Federal Communications Commission to conduct, by competitive bidding, the assignment of licenses for specified frequency bands. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to provide for the reallocation of bands currently used by the Federal Government. Modifies reallocation and distribution of frequency requirements. Title II: Health Care Insurance Coverage - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to mandate: (1) a set of rules for determining the actuarial value of the coverage offered by a plan or group health insurance coverage; and (2) a target actuarial value. Includes coverage for medical and surgical services, medical equipment, preventive services, and emergency transportation in frontier areas (standard coverage). Mandates model regulations specifying standards for making qualified group health plans available to small employers. Allows a State to implement more stringent standards, so long as the State standards do not prevent the offering of at least one plan that provides standard coverage. Requires each group plan offered, and issuer offering group coverage, to a small employer to establish a standard premium in each community rating area. Requires each State to divide the State into one or more community rating areas. Regulates premiums. Provides for the treatment of rates negotiated with a small employer purchasing group in a rating area. Mandates full disclosure of rating practices. Provides for State certification of small employer purchasing groups. Regulates such groups. Provides for payroll deductions for premiums. Requires each such group to offer eligible employees, eligible individuals, and certain uninsured individuals the opportunity to enroll in any qualified group health plan that has an agreement with the group. Regulates premiums. Requires each such group to market plans to members through the entire community rating area served by the group. Mandates grants to States and small employer purchasing groups to assist in planning, developing, and operating such groups. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes a State to establish a system in all or part of the State under which the groups are the sole mechanism through which coverage for employees of small employers may be purchased or provided. Requires each small employer (except new and very small employers) to make available to each eligible employee a group health plan providing at least standard coverage, with a specified maximum waiting period allowed. Declares that employer cost contributions are not required. Allows the requirement to be met through a multiemployer plan. Applies the requirements of this title to a multiemployer plan that is maintained by an organization such as a trade, industry, or professional association, a chamber of commerce, a religious organization, or a public entity association. Requires that a plan be certified by the Secretary. Sets forth special rules for church plans, plans maintained by a health plan sponsor, or plans maintained by a rural electric or rural telephone cooperative. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the provisions of this title to coverage offered in the individual market. (Sec. 211) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose taxes on the failure to comply with this title's requirements by a health insurance issuer, any small employer, or a qualified association, church plan, multiemployer plan, or plan maintained by a rural electric or telephone cooperative. (Sec. 214) Allows self-employed individuals to deduct 100 percent of their health insurance costs in 2007 and thereafter. (Sec. 215) Provides for group health plan continuation coverage and modifies the requirements regarding the period of continuation coverage. Title III: Primary and Preventive Care Services - Authorizes appropriations to carry out the healthy start program under provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to research and investigations generally, requiring reservation of specified amounts for model projects. (Sec. 302) Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for: (1) preventive health service immunization programs; (2) the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases; (3) family planning projects; (4) breast and cervical cancer programs; and (5) preventive health and health services block grants. Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grants) of the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations. (Sec. 303) Mandates grants to States to enable the States to: (1) make grants to establish, operate, and improve local programs of comprehensive health education and prevention, early health intervention, and health education in elementary and secondary schools; and (2) develop related training, technical assistance, and coordination. Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of Education the Office of Comprehensive School Health Education. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 304) Mandates a program of grants to agencies conducting Head Start training for training and technical assistance to Head Start teachers and other child care providers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 305) Amends adolescent family life demonstration project provisions of the Public Health Service Act to include in the definition of "necessary services" the providing of information about abstinence. Requires that demonstration project grants, as much as practicable, ensure adequate urban and rural area representation. Mandates a simplified and expedited application process for applicants seeking under a specified amount of funds. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the adolescent family life demonstration project provisions. Title IV: Patient's Right to Decline Medical Treatment - Prohibits State restrictions, except to protect a third party, on the right: (1) of a competent adult to consent to or decline medical treatment; or (2) of an incapacitated person to consent to or decline medical treatment through a power of attorney or similar document. Mandates development of national advance directive and durable power of attorney forms and requires all health care providers to honor such forms. Shields providers who act in good faith from criminal or civil liability or professional discipline. Denies Medicare and Medicaid payment for services contrary to the adult's wishes. Title V: Primary and Preventive Care Providers - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to modify or establish payment requirements regarding certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants. Allows (current law requires) payment to the employer of a physician assistant or nurse practitioner for the services provided. (Sec. 502) Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified registered nurse anesthetists in the definition of "medical assistance" for which payment will be made. (Sec. 503) Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to: (1) provide medical (including osteopathic) students for programs to interest high school or college students in careers in general medical practice; and (2) develop strategies for recruiting and placing medical students interested in practicing general medicine. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Cost Containment - Authorizes a program of clinical trials regarding promising new drugs and disease treatments. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 602) Authorizes appropriations for the Agency for Health Care Policy Research. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on health insurance premiums, payable by any person who makes, signs, issues, or sells any of the documents and instruments subject to the tax or for whose use or benefit the same are made, signed, issued, or sold. Establishes, and deposits the resulting tax receipts in, the Trust Fund for Medical Treatment Outcomes Research. Mandates annual Trust Fund distributions for outcomes research. (Sec. 603) Mandates establishment of a national health insurance data and claims system and a national database for health insurance and health outcomes information. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 604) Mandates grants to States that establish health care cost containment and quality information systems. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Tax Incentives for Purchase of Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance - Allows a credit for a percentage of premiums for a long-term care insurance contract. (Sec. 702) Includes (currently, excludes) long-term care insurance from the definition of "qualified benefits" in provisions relating to cafeteria plans. Excludes from (currently, includes in) an employee's gross income employer-provided coverage for long-term care. (Sec. 703) Excludes from gross income amounts from the whole or partial surrender, cancellation, or exchange of any life insurance contract if the amount is used to pay for any qualified long-term care insurance contract and other requirements are met. Declares that no gain or loss shall be recognized on the exchange of a life insurance or annuity contract for a long-term care contract if certain requirements are met. (Sec. 704) Makes a home equity conversion sale-leaseback transaction eligible for the one-time exclusion from gain from the sale of a principal residence if a portion of the proceeds are used to purchase a qualified long-term care contract and other requirements are met. Title VIII: National Fund for Health Research - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Fund for Health Research, consisting of amounts transferred to the Fund and interest on those amounts. Requires distribution of all amounts in the Fund in a year to the institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health in the same proportion as appropriations.
Bill· SS. 89 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage from discriminating on the basis: (1) of genetic information; or (2) that the participant or beneficiary has requested or received genetic services. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, or a health issuer in the individual market from so discriminating. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit an issuer of a Medicare supplemental policy from so discriminating. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage from so discriminating. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers.
Bill· SS. 146 (105th)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Provider-Sponsored Organization Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give Medicare beneficiaries the option of receiving Medicare coverage through enrollment with provider-sponsored organizations (PSOs) organized and licensed under State law, and certified as meeting certain Federal standards. Requires a PSO to be a qualified health maintenance organization (HMO) and meet other specified criteria. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secretary to pay all Medicare health plans on a partial risk basis. (Sec. 4) Requires a PSO to: (1) deliver a spectrum of health care services (including basic hospital and physicians services) to enrolled purchasers; and (2) provide a substantial proportion of the health care items and services under its Medicare contract through the provider or affiliated group of providers composing the organization. Provides for direct Federal Medicare certification as a qualified PSO through calendar 2001. Authorizes State licensure of PSOs after January 1, 2002, only if: (1) State financial solvency and capital adequacy standards are identical with Federal standards; and (2) State licensure standards are substantially equivalent to Federal standards. Allows a PSO seeking to operate under a full-risk contract or a partial risk contract to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for waiver of State licensure if: (1) the State has failed to act on the PSO's State application within a certain period of time; or (2) the State has denied the PSO's application, but the State's licensing standards or review process impose unreasonable barriers to market entry. Declares that a fiscally sound PSO meets Medicare financial solvency requirements. Prescribes general requirements for a PSO's ongoing quality assurance program (including case-by-case utilization review). Treats such requirements as met if the PSO is accredited by a private organization under a process approved by the Secretary. (Sec. 5) Treats Medicare-eligible organizations, including PSOs, as meeting the "50-50" enrollment composition rule (which requires that a health plan's Medicare and Medicaid enrollees cannot exceed 50 percent of its total enrollment) if they demonstrate: (1) their capability of providing coordinated care in accordance with the quality assurance standards established by this Act; and (2) their experience providing coordinated care to enrollees of a health plan or State Medicaid plan. Reduces enrollment size requirements for eligible organizations under Medicare. (Sec. 6) Permits computation of the adjusted community rate of payment for services for a qualified PSO using data in the general commercial marketplace or (during a transition period) based on costs incurred by the PSO in providing a product. (Sec. 7) Sets forth physician-participation procedure requirements. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue regulations regarding qualified PSO standards; and (2) establish a process for certification of qualified PSOs (including a discretionary application fee). (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to provide for demonstration projects in at least ten States that permit Medicaid programs to be treated as Medicare-eligible organizations for individuals eligible to enroll with a Medicare organization and also eligible for Medicaid, for the purpose of demonstrating the delivery of primary, acute, and long-term care through an integrated delivery network that emphasizes noninstitutional care. (Sec. 10) Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on Medicare partial-risk contracts.
Bill· SS. 166 (105th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Authorizes payment through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) for items and services for which payment is also made through Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act), with a reduction for the amount already covered by Medicare. Continues CHAMPUS eligibility for veterans eligible for care or treatment for a service-connected disability in facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Requires a person receiving medical or dental care for which payment may be made under both Medicare and CHAMPUS to certify the amounts charged and paid for such items and services.
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