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Bill· HRH.R. 772 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Human Rights, Opportunity, Partnership, and Empowerment for Africa Act (or the Hope for Africa Act) - Declares the policy of Congress toward sub-Saharan African countries. Title I: Cancellation of Debt Owed By Sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President to cancel all concessional and nonconcessional loans made, guarantees issued, or credits extended by the United States to sub-Saharan African countries. Directs the President to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees concerning the cancellation of debt. (Sec. 102) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of State to notify foreign governments that have provided loans, guarantees, or credits to the government of a sub-Saharan African country that it is U.S. policy to forgive all such debts and that such foreign governments should do the same. (Sec. 104) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Directors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to use the U.S. vote to advocate that such financial institutions: (1) unconditionally cancel all debts owed by a sub-Saharan African country to such institution; (2) encourage each country benefitting from such debt cancellation to allocate 20 percent of the country's national budget (including savings from such debt cancellation) to basic services, as the country has committed to do under the United Nations 20- 20 Initiative; and (3) after canceling such debt, require that any future loans not be used to finance in whole or part the implementation of any agreement which requires the country to pay more than five percent of its annual export earnings toward the servicing of foreign loans. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees with respect to the response by foreign governments to the policies advocated by this section. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) report to Congress on the amount of debt owed to any U.S. person by any country in sub-Saharan Africa; and (2) acquire and cancel each debt obligation owed to each U.S. person. (Sec. 106) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 to include as an additional duty of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission that it advise the Secretary of the Treasury and report to Congress on the viability and desirability of having each indebted sub-Saharan African country repay foreign loans in their currency. (Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of State to encourage the government of each sub-Saharan African country to allocate 20 percent of its national budget (including the savings from cancellation of debt owed by it to the United States) to other foreign countries, to the IMF and the World Bank, and to U.S. persons for the provision of basic services to individuals in their respective country, as provided for in the United Nations 20-20 Initiative. (Sec. 108) Expresses the sense of Congress that, prior to the cancellation of debt owed by sub-Saharan African countries, each such country should not pay in any calendar year an aggregate amount greater than five percent of the export earnings of the country for the prior calendar year. Title II: Trade Provisions Relating to Sub-Saharan Africa - Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius not later than 30 days after each country demonstrates that it: (1) does not engage in significant violations of internationally recognized human rights; (2) provides for the enforcement of certain internationally recognized worker rights; and (3) takes adequate measures to prevent illegal transshipment of goods. Directs the President to continue the no quota policy for each of the other sub-Saharan African countries that are in compliance with such requirements. (Sec. 201) Provides that, when the quota for either Kenya or Mauritius is first eliminated, the quota for textile and apparel products from China for each calendar year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the volume of imports of all textile and apparel products from all sub-Saharan African countries into the United States in the preceding calendar year, plus five percent of that amount. Requires the Secretary of Labor to determine, and report annually to Congress on, whether or not each sub-Saharan African country is providing for effective enforcement of internationally recognized worker rights. Directs the President to report annually to Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from countries in sub-Saharan Africa in order to inform U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers about the effects of the no quota policy. Directs the President to provide an additional benefit of 50 percent tariff reduction for any textile and apparel product of a sub-Saharan African country that meets the requirements (relating to human rights, workers rights, and illegal transshipments) and that is imported directly into the United States from such country if the business enterprise, or a subcontractor of the enterprise, producing the product is in compliance with specified conditions. Sets forth specified conditions for the import of textile and apparel goods into the United States, including such goods from a sub-Saharan African country. Sets forth penalties for violations committed under this Act. Directs the U.S. Customs Service to monitor and the Commissioner of Customs to report annually on measures taken by sub-Saharan African countries which export textiles or apparel goods to the United States to prevent unlawful transshipment of such goods and circumvention of this Act or any agreement regulating trade in such goods between such country and the United States. (Sec. 202) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for certain import-sensitive articles, or articles set forth in the product list of the Lome Treaty, that are the product of a beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country and that are in compliance with certain human rights requirements with respect to such articles if the President determines that such articles are not import-sensitive in the context of imports from such countries. Sets forth certain rules of origin for purposes of duty-free treatment of products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries. Extends duty-free treatment to: (1) products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries through June 30, 2005; and (2) products of other beneficiary developing countries through June 30, 1999. (Sec. 203) Grants a U.S. citizen a cause of action in the U.S. district court to seek compliance of sub-Saharan African countries with the requirements of this Act. Title III: Development Assistance for sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise congressional findings with respect to long-term development assistance for sub-Saharan Africa to declare that the HIV- AIDS epidemic, along with other conditions, have caused countless deaths and untold suffering among the people of sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 302) Directs the Agency for International Development (AID) to provide capacity building assistance through participatory planning to private and voluntary organizations that are involved in providing assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. (Sec. 303) Prohibits military assistance to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 304) Revises critical sectoral priorities provisions to give priority to: (1) increasing food security by promoting agriculture policies in sub-Saharan African countries; (2) improving health conditions in such countries by emphasizing, among other things, HIV-AIDS prevention and treatment programs; (3) providing increased access to voluntary family planning services, including access to prenatal healthcare; (4) improving education and vocational education, with particular emphasis on primary education and vocational education for women; and (5) developing income-generating opportunities, including development of manufacturing and processing industries and microcredit projects. (Sec. 305) Increases the minimum amount of long-term development assistance that should be targeted to certain critical sectors with respect to sub-Saharan African countries. (Sec. 306) Directs the Administrator of AID to report semiannually to Congress on: (1) how, and to what extent, AID has consulted with nongovernmental organizations in sub-Saharan Africa regarding the use of long-term development assistance to sub-Saharan African countries; (2) the extent to which such assistance has been successful in capacity building among local nongovernmental organizations and in increasing food security and access to health and education services among the people of sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) how, and to what extent, such assistance has furthered the goals of sustainable economic and agricultural development, gender equity, environmental protection, and respect for workers' rights there. (Sec. 307) Authorizes appropriations for the Development Fund for Africa. Title IV: Sub-Saharan Africa Equity and Infrastructure Funds - Directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to initiate one or more equity funds in support of infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa, including basic health services (including AIDS prevention and treatment), hospitals, potable water, sanitation, schools, electrification of rural areas, and publicly-accessible transportation. Title V: Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Export-Import Bank Initiatives - Directs the Board of Directors of OPIC to establish and work with an advisory committee to assist it in developing and implementing policies, programs, and financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan Africa, including with respect to equity and infrastructure funds established under this Act. Sets forth requirements with respect to the composition and administration of the advisory committee. (Sec. 502) Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to revise provisions establishing an advisory committee to require such committee to assist the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in developing, among other things, financial instruments with respect to sub-Saharan African countries. Sets forth requirements with respect to the composition and administration of the advisory committee. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to any Federal agency to be used to seek the revocation or revisions of any sub-Saharan African intellectual property or competition law or policy that is designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies. (Sec. 603) Directs the President to: (1) provide notice and opportunity to the public for comments on the success or failure of the implementation of this Act; and (2) report such comments to Congress.
Bill· HRH.R. 805 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Generic Drugs Access Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to new drug applications to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include in an application approval a finding about whether the approved (generic) drug is the therapeutic equivalent of the listed drug involved. Prohibits a State or its political subdivision from establishing or continuing any requirement that does not conform to the therapeutic equivalence requirement of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 806 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to increase the allotments for territories under CHIP.
Bill· HRH.R. 798 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Resources 2000 Act - Reduces according to a specified formula the amount of qualified Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues that shall be deposited for a limited fiscal year into the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, or any other fund or account established by this Act. (Sec. 6) Limits the amount available for administrative expenses to two percent. (Sec. 7) Requires off-budget treatment of the receipts and disbursements of funds under this Act. Title I: Land and Water Conservation Fund Revitalization - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to extend indefinitely the period for: (1) depositing amounts into the Land and Water Conservation Fund (currently, such period ends September 30, 2015); and (2) under specified conditions, annual authorization of appropriations to the Fund in certain amounts for FY 1977 through 1978 and each succeeding fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Makes $900 million available each fiscal year for obligation or expenditure without further appropriation, to be allocated as follows: (1) 50 percent for Federal purposes; and (2) 50 percent for State grants. (Sec. 105) Removes the "outdoor recreation" limitation on the use of financial assistance to States to carry out planning, land acquisition, and development projects for land and water conservation purposes. (Sec. 106) Revises the formula used to allocate amounts made available for State purposes from the Fund each fiscal year, including distributing one-third of such funds among the several States under a competitive grant program. (Sec. 107) Revises the requirement that a State have a comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan as a prerequisite to consideration by the Secretary of the Interior of financial assistance for acquisition or development projects. Allows a State, in order to reduce costly repetitive planning efforts, to use for such a plan a current State comprehensive outdoor recreation plan, a State recreation plan, or a State action agenda under criteria developed by the Secretary. (Sec. 108) Removes the restriction on providing financial assistance to States for incidental costs relating to land and water acquisition. Permits local funding and a limited percentage of the amount of State allocated funds in any one year to be used for sheltered facilities for swimming pools and ice skating rinks in areas where the Secretary determines a need to enhance public safety. (Sec. 109) Requires the Secretary to approve, subject to certain conditions, the conversion of property (other than for public outdoor recreation use) acquired or developed with assistance under the Act only if the State demonstrates that no prudent or feasible alternative exists. Exempts from such requirement conversion of property that is no longer viable as an outdoor conservation or recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination which endangers public health and safety. Title II: Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program Amendments - Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 to provide for the development of new recreation areas and facilities (including the acquisition of lands for such development) under the urban park and recreation recovery program. (Sec. 205) Revises requirements for: (1) Federal assistance grant eligibility; (2) matching grants to local governments for rehabilitation, development, and innovation purposes; (3) local park and recreation recovery action programs; (4) State action incentives; and (5) conversion of recreation property for any other purpose other than public recreation purposes. (Sec. 210) Establishes in the Treasury the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Fund. Specifies the amount to be deposited into the Fund each fiscal year out of qualified OCS revenues, which shall be available, without further appropriation, until expended. Sets forth limitations on annual State grants under this Act and grant and program administration. (Sec. 211) Repeals sunset provisions and congressional reporting requirements with respect to: (1) the impact of the urban park and recreation recovery program; and (2) the annual achievements of the innovation grant program. Title III: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to specify the amount to be deposited into the Historic Preservation Fund each fiscal year after FY 1998 out of qualified OCS revenues, which shall remain available, without further appropriation, and until expended, only to carry out the purposes of such Act. (Sec. 301) Requires at least one half of the funds obligated or expended each fiscal year under this Act to be used for preservation projects on historic properties (giving priority to the preservation of endangered historic properties). Title IV: Farmland, Ranchland, Open Space, and Forestland Protection - Establishes in the Treasury the Farmland, Ranchland, Open Space, and Forestland Protection Fund. (Sec. 403) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use specified amounts from the Fund for the farmland protection and forest legacy programs. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use specified amounts from the Fund for the ranchland protection program. (Sec. 404) Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 with respect to the farmland protection program to: (1) specify that the program shall be a matching grant program carried out through eligible entities such as State and local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit conservation organizations; (2) eliminate acreage limitations; and (3) increase the existing funding cap, revising it from a total program cap to a fiscal year cap. (Sec. 405) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a ranchland protection program similar to the farmland protection program. Title V: Federal and Indian Lands Restoration Fund - Establishes the Federal and Indians Lands Restoration Fund which shall be used as a dedicated source of funding for a coordinated program on Federal and Indian lands to restore degraded lands, protect resources that are threatened with degradation, and protect public health and safety. Deposits $250 million of qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues received by the United States each fiscal year into the Fund and allocates: (1) 60 percent to the Secretary of the Interior for lands within the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management; (2) 30 percent to the Secretary of Agriculture for lands within the National Forest System; and (3) ten percent to the Secretary of the Interior for competitive grants to Indian tribes under this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) each establish priority lists for the use of funds which give priority to projects based upon the protection of significant resources, the severity of damages or threats to resources, and the protection of public health or safety; and (2) jointly establish a coordinated program for tracking the progress of activities carried out and determining the extent to which demonstrable results are being achieved. Title VI: Living Marine Resources Conservation, Restoration, and Management Assistance - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to use amounts from the Living Marine Resources Conservation Fund for allocation to a coastal State with a Living Marine Resources Conservation Plan to reimburse the State for the costs of developing, implementing, and revising such a plan. Sets forth plan requirements. Establishes the Living Marine Resources Conservation Fund. Provides for the deposit in such fund of specified amounts received by the United States as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants from such fund for the conservation, restoration, or management of living marine resources. Sets forth criteria for grant approval. Defines "living marine resources" as indigenous fin fish, anadromous fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life, including marine mammals and birds, that inhabit marine or brackish waters of the United States during all or part of their life cycle. Title VII: Funding for State Native Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 to revise the purposes and applicability of such Act so as to: (1) provide for promoting conservation of native (currently, nongame) fish and wildlife; and (2) preserving biological diversity by maintaining natural assemblages of native fish and wildlife. Replaces the definition of "fish and wildlife" and "nongame fish and wildlife" with a definition of "native fish and wildlife" as a fish, animal, or plant species that: (1) historically occurred or occurs in an ecosystem, other than as a result of an introduction, and lives in an unconfined state; and (2) does not include any population of a domesticated species that has reverted to a feral existence. (Sec. 703) Requires State conservation plans to promote balanced and diverse assemblages of native fish and wildlife. (Sec. 704) Repeals the provision specifying that conservation actions set forth in a conservation plan approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall be eligible for reimbursement as fish and wildlife projects. (Sec. 705) Makes amendments relating to the reimbursement of State costs for the development, revision, and implementation of conservation plans to: (1) extend eligibility for reimbursement of costs incurred by States for developing conservation plans through FY 2010, and for implementing conservation plans through FY 2005; (2) repeal specified reimbursement requirements; (3) prohibit paying reimbursement to any State for any cost incurred in implementing an approved conservation plan or action to the extent that more than 50 (currently ten) percent of such costs in any such year are accounted for by inkind contributions; and (4) prohibit the amount of reimbursement paid to any State for any fiscal year after FY 2010 from exceeding 75 percent of the cost of implementing and revising the plan during the fiscal year. (Sec. 706) Establishes the Native Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Fund into which the following amounts received as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues shall be deposited: (1) $100 million for each of FY 2000 and 2001; (2) $200 million for each of FY 2002 through 2004; and (3) $350 million for FY 2005 and each proceeding fiscal year. Makes up to the amount stated for a fiscal year available to the Secretary of the Interior for that fiscal year to reimburse States for conservation plans and actions. Title VIII: Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce to use amounts in the Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Fund to provide financial assistance to persons for development and implementation of Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Agreements. Requires either Secretary to give priority to the development and implementation of Agreements that: (1) implement actions identified under recovery plans approved by the Secretary; (2) have the greatest potential for contributing to the recovery of an endangered or threatened species; and (3) require use of the assistance on land owned by a small landowner or on a family farm by the owner or operator. Prohibits the Secretary from providing financial assistance for any action that is required by a permit issued under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 or that is otherwise required under Federal law. (Sec. 803) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into such Agreements and sets forth Agreement requirements, including: (1) requiring activities not otherwise mandated by law that contribute to species recovery; and (2) specifying species recovery goals. Requires the Secretary to review Agreements for compliance with such requirements, propose necessary revisions, approve Agreements in compliance, periodically monitor the implementation of each Agreement, and disburse financial assistance to implement the Agreement. (Sec. 804) Establishes the Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Fund in the Treasury and requires $100 million to be deposited into the Fund each fiscal year from amounts received as qualified Outer Continental Shelf revenues.
Bill· HRH.R. 804 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Anesthesia Services Preservation Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise any regulations establishing Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) conditions of participation for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers relating to anesthesia services under Medicare to prohibit such regulations from imposing supervisory or related requirements on the performance of such services by certified registered nurse anesthetists.
Bill· HRH.R. 797 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to exempt disabled individuals from required enrollment with a managed care entity under the Medicaid program.
Bill· HRH.R. 781 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Preference for Contractors That Hire Welfare Recipients Title II: Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants Title III: Guarantees of Loans Made by States to Current or Recent Welfare Recipients Title IV: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Title V: Restoration of Deductions Job Access and Work Incentives Act - Title I: Preference for Contractors that Hire Welfare Recipients - Requires the head of a department or agency of the Federal Government, in awarding a covered contract (contracts over $500,000), to give preference (subject to exceptions) to an entity that agrees to hire welfare recipients (a recipient of assistance under part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act) for jobs created to carry out the contract. Title II: Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants - Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to extend and increase the job access and reverse commute grants program. Title III: Guarantees of Loans Made by States to Current or Recent Welfare Recipients - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide a loan guarantee to a State with respect to a loan if: (1) the loan is made by a State; (2) the borrower is a recipient of assistance under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act; (3) the principal amount of the loan is not less than $20 and not more than $5,000; and (4) the loan bears interest at an annual rate that does not exceed the rate at which interest is payable annually on bonds most recently issued by the smallest political subdivision of the State in which the borrower resides that has borrowing authority. Title IV: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services - Appropriates funds, as specified under the Public Health Service Act, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Title V: Restoration of Deductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the current limitations on the deductions for: (1) meals and entertainment expenses; and (2) luxury water transportation, travel as a form of education, and travel expenses for spouses and dependents.
Bill· HRH.R. 762 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1999 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute regarding lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates charges (whether they are characterized as enrollment fees, premiums, deductibles, cost sharing, copayments, coinsurance, or other charges) imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 423 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Addiction Free Treatment Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the use of certain funds under such Acts for any drug treatment or rehabilitation program that uses methadone or Levo-Alpha Acetyl-Methadol (pharmacological heroin detoxification agents) unless the program follows specified guidelines, including that the program has as its primary objective the elimination of drug addiction (including addiction to the heroin detoxification agents mentioned above) and that it conducts random and frequent comprehensive drug testing for all narcotics. Requires: (1) the Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse to conduct a study regarding the effectiveness of non-pharmacological heroin rehabilitation programs and methadone-to-abstinence programs; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit annual reports to Congress over a five-year period on heroin rehabilitation program effectiveness.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 35 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) in authorizing medical facility projects and leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Congress should authorize projects that are designed specifically for treating veterans with Alzheimer's disease and conducting related research; (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should encourage innovation by Department health care personnel in treating veterans with such disease; and (3) the Secretary should consider and facilitate the sharing of information on such disease among Department facilities and personnel.
Bill· HRH.R. 745 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Medicare Substitute Adult Day Care Services Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of substitute adult day care services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to monitor Medicare expenditures for home health services for a fiscal year, including substitute adult day care services, and compare them to expenditures that the Secretary estimates would have been made for home health services for that fiscal year if there had been no coverage of substitute adult day care services. Requires the Secretary, if home health service expenditures exceed such estimates, to adjust the rate of payment to adult day care facilities so that total expenditures do not exceed such estimates.
Bill· HRH.R. 731 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
National Eye Institute Authorization Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for the National Eye Institute for FY 1999 through 2004 (with amounts for FY 2004 double those authorized for FY 1999).
Bill· HRH.R. 723 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Making Affordable Prescriptions Available for Seniors Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of pharmacy assistance for persons at least 65 years old with no pharmacy benefits from an insurance policy supplemental to title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or coverage from any third party payor, and whose income is under a specified level. Allows an annual enrollment fee (of not over $15) and deductibles. Mandates copayments not over $10 per prescription. Prohibits approval of an application under provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to biological products or provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act relating to new drugs if the drug manufacturer submits with the application the results of research carried out by the National Institutes of Health, or under an agreement under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, until the manufacturer agrees to pay to the Secretary of Health and Human Services seven percent of the gross sales receipts.
Bill· HRH.R. 743 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Military Retirees' Medicare Equity Act of 1999 - 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. 746 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Medicare Home Health Case Manager Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with regard to home health services to: (1) require a case management plan established by a home health case manager for beneficiaries requiring extended home health services; and (2) provide for coverage of and payment for home health case manager services under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), including alternative payment under a competitive bidding process. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a fee schedule for payment for home health case manager services; and (2) study and report to Congress on the feasibility of case managers with respect to Medicare post-acute hospital care services.
Bill· HRH.R. 719 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Managed Care Consumer Protections Subtitle A: Access to Care Subtitle B: Quality Assurance Subtitle C: Patient Information Subtitle D: Grievances and Appeals Procedures Subtitle E: Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship Subtitle F: Promoting Good Medical Practice Subtitle G: Definitions Title II: Application of Patient Protection Standards to Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Under Public Health Service Act Title III: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title IV: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation Managed Care Reform Act of 1999 - Title I: Managed Care Consumer Protections - Subtitle A: Access to Care - Requires any group health plan, or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer, providing emergency services benefits to cover emergency services furnished: (1) without the need for any prior authorization determination; (2) whether or not the health care provider furnishing such services is a participating health care provider; and (3) without regard to any other term or condition of such coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, or an affiliation or waiting period, permitted under the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), or the Internal Revenue Code, and other than applicable cost-sharing). Requires such coverage in a manner so that, if the emergency services are provided by a nonparticipating health care provider the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not liable for amounts exceeding the liability that would be incurred if the services were provided by a participating provider with prior authorization. Prescribes the same coverage for maintenance care or post-stabilization care (subject to certain guidelines) by nonparticipating health care providers. (Sec. 102) Requires a plan or coverage that provides benefits only through participating providers to offer a participant the option to purchase point-of-service coverage for benefits provided by a nonparticipating provider, unless the plan offers the participant a choice of health insurance coverage and one or more coverage options that do not provide benefits only through participating providers. (Sec. 103) Requires any plan and any health insurance issuer to permit each participant, beneficiary, and enrollee to receive: (1) primary care from any participating primary care provider available to accept such individual; and (2) (unless the plan or issuer clearly declares choice limitations) medically necessary or appropriate specialty care, pursuant to appropriate referral procedures, from any qualified participating provider available to accept such individual for such care. (Sec. 104) Requires any plan or issuer that requires or provides for designation of a participating primary care provider to permit a female participant, beneficiary, or enrollee to designate a participating physician who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology as the individual's primary care provider. Prohibits the plan or issuer, in the absence of such a designation, from requiring authorization or a referral by the individual's primary care provider or otherwise for coverage of routine gynecological care (such as preventive women's health examinations) and pregnancy-related services provided by a participating specialist in obstetrics and gynecology to the extent such care is otherwise covered. Permits a plan or issuer to treat the ordering of other gynecological care by such a participating health professional as the primary care provider's authorization of such care. Requires the plan or issuer to refer to an available and accessible specialist any participant, beneficiary, or enrollee with a condition or disease of sufficient seriousness and complexity to require treatment by a specialist, and benefits for such treatment are covered. Requires a plan or issuer to refer an individual to a nonparticipating specialist: (1) only if a participating specialist is not available and accessible; and (2) only at no additional cost to the individual. Requires a plan or issuer to have a procedure by which an individual with an ongoing special condition (life-threatening, degenerative, or disabling) may be referred to a specialist who shall be responsible for and capable of providing and coordinating the individual's primary and specialty care, without referral from the individual's primary care provider. Requires standing referrals to a specialist for any condition requiring ongoing specialist care. (Sec. 105) Prescribes requirements for continuity of care for participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees in the event of a termination of a health care provider or of the contract between a plan and an issuer. (Sec. 106) Prescribes requirements for participation in approved clinical trials of individuals with life-threatening or serious illnesses for which no standard treatment is effective. Prohibits denial of participation in such trials, or discrimination against participants. Limits plan or issuer payments to routine patient costs. (Sec. 107) Requires any plan or issuer that provides prescription drug benefits limited to drugs included in a formulary to: (1) ensure participation of participating physicians and pharmacists in the development of the formulary; (2) disclose to providers, and upon request to participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees, the nature of the formulary restrictions; and (3) consistent with the standards for a utilization review program, provide for exceptions from the formulary limitation when a non-formulary alternative is medically indicated. Prohibits a plan or issuer from denying coverage of such a drug or device on the basis that the use is investigational, if certain labeling requirements are met. (Sec. 108) Requires each plan and issuer to have (in relation to the coverage) a sufficient number, distribution, and variety of qualified participating providers to ensure that all covered health care services, including specialty services, will be available and accessible in a timely manner to all participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees. Permits inclusion among such providers of federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, migrant health centers, and other essential community providers located in the service area. Requires inclusion of such providers if necessary to meet such number, distribution, and variety requirements. (Sec. 109) Prescribes nondiscrimination requirements. Subtitle B: Quality Assurance - Requires each plan and issuer to conduct (or arrange for qualified outside agents to conduct) benefit utilization review activities only in accordance with a utilization review program that meets certain requirements. Prohibits a program from permitting or providing contingent compensation arrangements with its employees, agents, or contractors in a manner that: (1) provides incentives, direct or indirect, for such persons to make inappropriate review decisions; or (2) is based, directly or indirectly, on the quantity or type of adverse determinations rendered. (Sec. 111) Requires a utilization review program to make determinations and notifications concerning: (1) prior authorization services within three business days after receiving any necessary information; (2) authorization for continued or extended health care services within one business day after receipt of such information; and (3) retrospective review of services previously provided, within 30 days of such receipt. Subtitle C: Patient Information - Specifies benefits, access, emergency coverage, prior authorization, grievance and appeals, and other pertinent information which plans and issuers shall provide to participants and beneficiaries at the time of initial coverage, annually, within a reasonable period before or after the date of significant changes, and upon request. (Sec. 122) Requires plans and issuers to establish procedures to: (1) safeguard the privacy of any individually identifiable enrollee information; (2) maintain records and information in an accurate and timely manner; and (3) assure individuals timely access to such records and information. (Sec. 123) Provides for grants to States for creation and operation of a Health Insurance Ombudsman. Requires any State receiving such a grant to contract for such an Ombudsman with a not-for-profit organization that operates independent of group health plans and health insurance issuers. Requires the Secretary to provide through such a contract for an Ombudsman in any State that does not provide for one. Makes such an Ombudsman responsible to: (1) assist consumers in choosing among health insurance coverage or among coverage options offered within group health plans; and (2) provide counseling and assistance to enrollees dissatisfied with their treatment by issuers and plans, and with respect to grievances and appeals of coverage or plan determinations. Subtitle D: Grievances and Appeals Procedures - Requires each plan and issuer to establish a system for the presentation and resolution of oral and written grievances brought by participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees, or health care providers or other individuals acting on behalf of an individual and with the individual's consent. Requires the system to include grievances regarding access to and availability of services, quality of care, choice and accessibility of providers, network adequacy, and compliance with the requirements of this title. (Sec. 132) Requires each plan and issuer to establish an internal appeals process, and provide for an external appeals process, which meet certain requirements. Specifies the appeal rights of participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives, as well as the kinds of decisions which are appealable. Subtitle E: Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship - Prohibits any contract or agreement between a plan or issuer and a health care provider from: (1) prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with the provider's patient; or (2) containing any provision purporting to transfer to the health care provider by indemnification or otherwise any liability relating to activities, actions, or omissions of the plan, issuer, or agent (as opposed to the provider). Declares null and void any such contract or agreement provisions. (Sec. 142) Prohibits any plan or issuer from operating any physician incentive plan that does not meet certain requirements under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. (Sec. 143) Requires any plan or issuer to establish reasonable procedures relating to the participation of health care professionals, including notice of participation rules, written notice of adverse participation decisions, and a process for appealing adverse decisions. (Sec. 144) Prohibits a plan or an issuer from retaliating against a participant, beneficiary, enrollee, or health care provider based on use of, or participation in, a utilization review or a grievance process. Prohibits a plan or an issuer from retaliating or discriminating against a protected health care professional because the professional in good faith: (1) discloses information relating to the care, services, or conditions affecting one or more participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees to an appropriate public regulatory agency, private accreditation body, or management personnel of the plan or issuer; or (2) initiates, cooperates, or otherwise participates in an investigation or proceeding by such an agency with respect to such care, services, or conditions. Defines good faith ACTION. Subtitle F: Promoting Good Medical Practice - Prohibits a plan or issuer from arbitrarily interfering with or altering the decision of the treating physician regarding the manner or setting in which particular covered services are delivered (including the number of days in a hospital) if they are medically necessary or appropriate for treatment or diagnosis. Allows a plan or issuer to limit the delivery of services to one or more providers within a network. (Sec. 152) Requires a plan or issuer that provides medical and surgical benefits to provide inpatient coverage following a mastectomy, lumpectomy, or lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer for a period of time as is determined by the attending physician, in his or her professional judgment consistent with medical standards, to be medically appropriate. Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) denying to a woman eligibility to enroll or renew coverage solely for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of this title; (2) providing monetary payments or rebates to encourage women to accept less than the minimum protections available under this title; (3) penalizing or otherwise reducing or limiting reimbursement because an attending provider gave care to a participant or beneficiary in accordance with this title; (4) providing incentives (monetary or otherwise) to induce an attending provider to provide care to a participant or beneficiary in a manner inconsistent with this title; or (5) restricting benefits (other than imposing deductibles, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing) for any portion of a period within a required hospital length of stay in a manner less favorable than the benefits provided for any preceding portion of such stay. Subtitle G: Definitions - Sets forth definitions. Title II: Application of Patient Protection Standards to Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Coverage Under Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act. (Sec. 202) Requires each health insurance issuer to comply with such requirements with respect to individual health insurance coverage. Title III: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA to require each plan and issuer to comply with the patient protection requirements of this Act. (Sec. 302) Provides that nothing in ERISA shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or supersede any cause of action under State law to recover damages resulting from personal injury or wrongful death against any person (except employers and other plan sponsors): (1) in connection with the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by that person to or for a group health plan; or (2) that arises out of the arrangement by that person for the provision of insurance, administrative services, or medical services by other persons. Allows such an action against an employer or other plan sponsor (or against an employee of such an employer or sponsor acting within the scope of employment) only if it is based on the employer's or sponsor's exercise of discretionary authority to decide a claim for covered benefits, and such exercise resulted in personal injury or wrongful death. Title IV: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this Act. (Sec. 402) Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to provide for coordination in the implementation of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 729 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1999
Helicopter Noise Control and Safety Act - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration upon determining independently, or after review of a study submitted by a requester, that helicopter operations pose a public noise and safety risk in a county or municipality with a greater than 500,000 population, to develop and implement a plan, in accordance with specified requirements, to reduce that risk. Authorizes any city, State, local government, agency, or instrumentality, or any person responsible for the operation of a heliport, to submit to the Administrator: (1) a study demonstrating that noise or safety conditions, or both, resulting from helicopter operations pose a risk to the public health and welfare of such a county or municipality; and (2) a plan to reduce the risk. Requires the Administrator to review such a plan and, upon determining that helicopter operations pose such a risk, to make any modifications necessary to conform with this Act. Specifies procedures for public comment and implementation of a plan developed in either manner.
Law· SS. 406 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Alaska Native and American Indian Direct Reimbursement Act of 1999 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to make permanent the demonstration program under which Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Alaska Native health organizations that contract or compact for the operation of a hospital or clinic of the Indian Health Service may directly bill for, and receive payment for, health care services provided by such hospital or clinic for which payment is made under Medicare or Medicaid or from any other third party payor. Requires participating hospitals and clinics to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services quarterly reports on the program during the first two years of participation and annual reports thereafter. Provides for: (1) application to the Secretary by an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or Alaska Native health organization for participation of a Service facility in the program (the demonstration program was limited to four facilities); (2) the ongoing examination and implementation of necessary administrative changes to facilitate direct billing and reimbursement under the program; and (3) withdrawal from participation in the program.
Bill· HRH.R. 664 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Prescription Drug Fairness for Seniors Act of 1999 - Requires each participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each pharmacy such covered outpatient drug in the described amount (an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the covered outpatient drug sold or distributed by the pharmacy to Medicare beneficiaries) and at the described price (the price equal to the lower of either the lowest price paid for the drug by the Federal Government or the manufacturer's best price for the drug). Sets forth special provisions with respect to hospice programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 691 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund Act of 1999 - Establishes in the Treasury the Veterans Tobacco Trust Fund. Provides that if a lawsuit is brought by the United States against tobacco manufacturers for costs incurred due to tobacco-related illnesses, then there shall be credited to the Fund, without further appropriation, the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount recovered as the amount for the Department of Veterans Affairs' costs for health care attributable to tobacco-related illnesses bears to the total amount sought in the suit. Makes such amounts available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for: (1) furnishing veterans' medical care and services; and (2) conducting medical, rehabilitation, and health systems research, with particular emphasis on research relating to the prevention and treatment of, and rehabilitation from, tobacco addiction and diseases associated with tobacco use.
Bill· HRH.R. 702 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1999
Waives a time limitation under the Public Health Service Act with respect to the filing by a named individual of a petition for compensation for vaccine-related injuries.
Bill· HRH.R. 655 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Medicare Social Work Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.
Bill· HRH.R. 634 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Medigap Access Protection for Seniors Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to the certification of Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) policies to include among such policies one which covers prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan under SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) that terminates enrollment of all individuals in the area in which the beneficiary resides.
Bill· HRH.R. 632 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1999
Safe Seniors Assurance Study Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a study for a report to Congress on the mortality and adverse outcomes rates of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) patients by providers of anesthesia services (service providers). Provides that if the HHS Secretary determines that lack of physician supervision of service providers results in an adverse impact on outcome rates of Medicare patients, then such providers under Medicare or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) shall be supervised by a physician in the same manner as they are supervised under HHS regulations in effect on January 1, 1999.
Bill· SS. 391 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Children's Hospitals Education and Research Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payment as specified to each children's hospital for each hospital cost reporting period under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) from FY 2000 through FY 2003 for the direct and indirect expenses associated with operating approved medical residency training programs. Provides that such payments are in lieu of certain Medicare payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, but shall not affect the amounts otherwise payable to such hospitals under a State Medicaid (SSA title XIX) plan. Makes appropriations.
Bill· HRH.R. 626 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1999
Health Care Research and Development and Taxpayer Protection Act - Requires a Federal agency or nonprofit entity undertaking federally funded health care research and development not to convey or provide to a person a patent or other exclusive right to use such research and development for a drug or other health care technology until: (1) the person enters a reasonable pricing agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; or (2) the Secretary determines that the public interest is served by a waiver of such pricing agreement. Requires the Government, in conveying or licensing exclusive rights to federally funded research, to give consideration to mechanisms for determining reasonable prices based upon a competitive bidding process where bidders compete: (1) based on the lowest prices that will be charged to consumers; (2) based on the least sales revenues before prices are adjusted in accordance with a cost-based reasonable pricing formula; (3) based on the least period of time before prices are adjusted in accordance with such a formula; (4) based on the shortest period of exclusivity; or (5) under other competitive bidding systems. Permits such competitive bidding process to incorporate requirements for minimum levels of expenditures on research, marketing, maximum price, or other factors.
Bill· SS. 378 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the non-preemption of State prescription drug coverage mandates in connection with Medicare+Choice plans under SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) in cases of approved State Medigap waivers under Medicare.
Bill· SS. 374 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Promoting Responsible Managed Care Subtitle A: Grievance and Appeals Subtitle B: Consumer Information Subtitle C: Patient Protection Standards Subtitle D: Enhanced Enforcement Authority Title II: Patient Protection Standards Under the Public Health Service Act Title III: Patient Protection Standards Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title IV: Patient Protection Standards Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation Promoting Responsible Managed Care Act of 1999 - Title I: Promoting Responsible Managed Care - Subtitle A: Grievance and Appeals - Declares that a participant or beneficiary in a group health plan or an enrollee in health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer (covered individual) has rights relating to grievances, timely coverage determinations, expedited coverage determinations, and determination appeals. Requires that a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer in connection with health coverage, maintain procedures in accordance with those sections. (Sec. 102) Requires a plan or issuer to: (1) conduct utilization review; (2) provide procedures for timely hearings and resolution of grievances by covered individuals; (3) make timely coverage determinations and redeterminations, including expedited redeterminations in certain circumstances. Regulates review programs. (Sec. 106) Allows a party to a reconsideration that receives an unfavorable determination to request external review by an entity under contract with the plan. Subtitle B: Consumer Information - Requires plans and issuers to disclose specified information at certain times. (Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations for grants to States for contracts with organizations that are independent of plans and issuers for Health Insurance Ombudsmen to provide consumer assistance. Authorizes Federal provision of such a contract where States do not do so. (Sec. 112) Requires: (1) plans and issuers to collect and submit to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research certain aggregate quality data; and (2) the Agency to publicly disseminate the information (thereby allowing quality comparisons) and to conduct and support research demonstration projects, evaluations, and the dissemination of information regarding quality information. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 113) Requires plans and issuers to have: (1) procedures to safeguard the privacy of individually identifiable health information; and (2) quality assurance and quality improvement programs meeting specified requirements. Subtitle C: Patient Protection Standards - Imposes plan or issuer requirements regarding emergency services and related maintenance or post-stabilization care. (Sec. 122) Provides for: (1) choice of primary (and, unless prior notice is given to the contrary, specialist) providers; (2) routine gynecological and pregnancy-related services from appropriate professionals without authorization; (3) referrals to specialists; (4) designation of a specialist as a primary provider in certain circumstances; (5) standing referrals; and (6) continuity of care on termination of a contract between a plan or issuer and a provider or between a plan and an issuer. Prohibits involuntary disenrollment because an individual's behavior is disruptive, abusive, or uncooperative if the behavior is directly related to diminished mental capacity, severe and persistent mental illness, or a serious childhood mental and emotional disorder, unless the behavior directly threatens bodily injury. Requires that plans and issuers have a sufficient number, distribution, and variety of providers. (Sec. 123) Prohibits plans and issuers, in certain circumstances, from denying participation in a relevant clinical trial or otherwise discriminating against the individual on the basis of the enrollee's trial participation. Imposes requirements on plans and issuers regarding drug formularies. (Sec. 124) Prohibits plans and issuers from discriminating on the basis of race and other specified factors. (Sec. 125) Prohibits an organization on behalf of a plan or issuer from penalizing a health professional for advocating on behalf of the professional's patient or for providing information or referral for medical care. Prohibits a plan or issuer: (1) from restricting a health professional from assisting enrollees who are appealing certain matters under subtitle A; (2) through its contract with its provider, from transferring to the provider any plan or issuer liability; or (3) from operating any physician incentive plan not meeting certain requirements. (Sec. 127) Requires plans and issuers to have a written process for the selection of participating professionals. Prohibits discrimination on the basis of a high-risk patient base or the professional's race or other specified factors. (Sec. 128) Sets forth plan and issuer requirements regarding breast cancer and related procedures, coverages, and practices. (Sec. 129) Prohibits a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer in connection with health coverage, from interfering arbitrarily with or altering the decision of the treating physician regarding the manner or setting in which particular covered services are delivered if the services are medically necessary or appropriate for treatment or diagnosis to the extent that such treatment or diagnosis is otherwise a covered benefit. Subtitle D: Enhanced Enforcement Authority - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) enforce this Act; (2) require States that elect to assume enforcement authority to report on their efforts; (3) require issuers to report regarding compliance with this Act; and (4) bring a civil action for equitable relief regarding violations of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to: (1) enforce this Act; and (2) bring such an action. Sets dollar limits on monetary penalties. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 142) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to authorize the Secretary of Labor to assess a civil penalty against a person acting as a fiduciary of a plan so as to cause a violation of certain amendments made by title III of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Patient Protection Standards Under Public Health Service Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-277), to require plans (and, with regard to group and individual insurance, issuers) to comply with patient protection requirements under title I of this Act. Title III: Patient Protection Standards Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA, as amended by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-277), to require plans and issuers to comply with the requirements of title I of this Act. Provides for situations in which a plan is not liable for the failure of an issuer's or external appeal entity's failure to meet those requirements. (Sec. 302) Makes any person or persons responsible for making a coverage determination that is not made timely or in accordance with plan terms liable to the participant or beneficiary for economic loss. Title IV: Patient Protection Standards Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a plan to comply with the requirements of this Act. Title V: Effective Dates; Coordination in Implementation - Sets forth the effective dates for this Act. (Sec. 502) Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to provide for coordination among the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Labor, and of the Treasury regarding regulations, rulings, interpretations, and policies relating to specified provisions of the Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 606 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Education Title II: Employment and Training Title III: Health Care Title IV: Economic Equity Title V: Organizational Restructuring Servicemembers and Veterans Transition Services Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Education - Amends Federal provisions relating to the veterans' educational assistance program (VEAP) to: (1) increase its monthly rates of educational assistance; (2) require the Secretary of Defense to notify a member of the armed forces of the availability of VEAP benefits and eligibility requirements within 90 days after such individual enters on active duty; (3) repeal a provision allowing individuals to elect not to receive VEAP assistance; (4) revise provisions concerning VEAP enrollment; and (5) authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to make accelerated payments of VEAP basic educational assistance. Provides an enhanced educational assistance entitlement under VEAP to each individual who: (1) after September 30, 1999, first enters on active duty, or reenlists or extends such duty, for at least four years; (2) serves on active duty and is discharged for reasons other than willful misconduct or inappropriate discharge of duty, or is discharged involuntarily for the convenience of the Government as a result of a reduction in force; (3) completed the requirements of a secondary school diploma within their period of active duty; and (4) after completing the required period of active duty, continues on active duty, is discharged honorably, is released honorably and is placed on an inactive status list, or is released for further service in a reserve component after honorable active-duty service. Provides definitions, exceptions, and conditions. Allows such qualifying individuals up to 36 months of educational assistance. Authorizes the transfer of such entitlement to a spouse or child, or combination thereof, under certain conditions. Provides for the payment of additional educational expenses (books and supplies). Provides educational assistance amounts, with amounts for fiscal years after 2000 based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. Allows qualifying individuals to also receive tutorial assistance, with a maximum of $1,200 in such assistance per individual. (Sec. 102) Requires each State veterans education development agency (currently, each State approving agency) to: (1) actively promote the development of on-job training programs for veterans; and (2) give priority to programs that provide training to veterans with disabilities. Requires (currently authorizes) such agency to approve educational courses offered for participation in VEAP. Title II: Education and Training - Makes eligible for veterans' job counseling, training, and placement services veterans with existing employment barriers and recently separated veterans. Designates veterans' case managers and veterans' employment facilitators for service under such programs. Replaces program references to the Job Training and Partnership Act and the Veterans' Job Training Act with references to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or contract with entities which agree to provide employment and training services for veterans, requiring such grants or contracts to be awarded on a competitive basis. Outlines requirements for entities providing services under the program. Provides grant terms, conditions, and limitations. Directs the Secretary to make available necessary funds to support the veterans' case managers and veterans' employment facilitators designated above. Outlines veterans' services required to be performed by such managers and facilitators. Includes within a study to be conducted by the Secretary concerning unemployment among certain veterans those veterans who served on active duty after the Vietnam era who did or did not serve in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized. Directs the Secretary of Labor to resolve certain discrepancies regarding the number of veterans who use State employment services, and to report to the appropriate congressional committees. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary to require that performance measurements for the veterans' vocational rehabilitation program focus on specified outcome measures, including those who actually enter employment. Requires all case management and employment services under such program to be provided exclusively by Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) personnel or by a veterans' case manager. Makes this section effective on October 1, 2000. (Sec. 203) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for a program under which the Secretary of Labor furnishes counseling and other employment and training assistance to military personnel being separated from active duty, and the spouses of such members. Requires appropriations increases for FY 2000 and each succeeding fiscal year based on Consumer Price Index increases. (Sec. 204) Provides deadlines for the commencement of preseparation counseling for military personnel prior to their retirement, discharge, or release from duty. Requires a member to be considered involuntarily separated, for purposes of such benefits, if the member is being discharged or released as the result of a force- management reduction. (Sec. 206) Requires appropriate support from the Secretary to the Secretary of Labor with respect to employment, training, and other transitional assistance provided to separated military personnel. (Sec. 207) Provides a priority in the provision of veterans' employment, training, or related services for disabled veterans, veterans with employment barriers, and veterans separated from active duty for less than four years. (Sec. 208) Establishes within the executive branch the Veterans' Employment Network to: (1) raise employer awareness of the advantages of hiring separating and recently separated servicemembers and veterans; (2) facilitate the employment of such individuals through national electronic labor exchanges; and (3) foster, and facilitate the coordination of, Federal, State, and local governmental programs marketing the employment of such individuals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2000 and thereafter. (Sec. 209) Directs the Secretary of Labor to design, establish, and maintain on the Internet an electronic site to be known as the Veterans and Servicemembers Internet Site which shall match veterans and servicemembers with prospective employers. Requires the site to be publicized to prospective employers, veterans, and military and veterans' associations. (Sec. 210) Amends Federal employment provisions to: (1) eliminate the reduction in retired pay for officers who become federally employed after such retirement, in the case of officers who become eligible to begin receiving such retired pay after December 31, 1999; (2) repeal a provision limiting post-retirement employment of retired military personnel within DOD; (3) provide that, for purposes of maximum age entry limitations for Federal fire fighters and law enforcement officers, a veteran's actual age shall be considered decreased by the period of active military duty served; and (4) authorize the accrual of annual leave with pay for Federal employees who are Vietnam era veterans. (Sec. 214) Requires any solicitation issued by the Departments of Defense, Labor, or Veterans Affairs for the procurement of real or personal property or nonpersonal services to require each offeror to include: (1) a description of the offeror's program for hiring and promoting qualified eligible veterans; and (2) an affirmative commitment to hire eligible veterans as a specific percentage of the workforce. Title III: Health Care - Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to: (1) revise the fees charged for the provision of transitional health care coverage for certain former military personnel; (2) provide that such coverage shall be secondary to any other private health care plan or insurance; and (3) direct the Secretary of Defense to timely notify all persons eligible for such revised benefits. (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs (the Secretaries) to: (1) jointly establish policies for the unified procurement within their respective departments of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, and medical equipment; and (2) enter into a memorandum of understanding for implementing such policies. Provides funding. (Sec. 303) Directs the Secretaries to develop and maintain a clinically-based medications formulary for use by their respective departments. Allows the Secretaries to procure items listed on the formulary without seeking competition. (Sec. 304) Prohibits, after one year after the enactment of this Act, any medical or surgical product from being procured for either department's health care system unless the product bears a universal product number, or unless such product has been excepted from such requirement by considerations of health and safety. (Sec. 305) Directs the Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a single solicitation for the replacement of the existing legacy medical information management systems within their departments with integrated and interoperable systems; (2) develop policies to ensure that commercially available technology is used to enhance or replace parts of such system; and (3) develop and maintain a common set of technical and data standards to facilitate data exchange between such systems. (Sec. 306) Directs the Secretaries to undertake a program to ensure public awareness of the benefits of the health-care research that their departments conduct, requiring a financial return on such research programs. (Sec. 307) Directs the Secretaries to conduct a pilot program during FY 2000 and 2001 under which hospital care and medical services authorized to be furnished by contract are furnished by contractors under contracts entered into under the TRICARE Program (a DOD managed health care program). (Sec. 308) Directs the Secretaries and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to jointly review the various forms of Federal support provided to teaching hospitals and medical schools. Directs the Secretaries to jointly review the extent and nature of the collaboration between the graduate medical programs of their departments and to take necessary action to achieve opportunities for greater collaboration. (Sec. 309) Amends the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 to authorize appropriations for FY 2000 for the Department's program for homeless veterans. Requires the Secretary to direct that a significant portion of the savings achieved by the Veterans Health Administration through the closure of acute care beds is redirected to the furnishing of community-based residential treatment to homeless veterans. Directs the Secretary to utilize current authority to enter into enhanced-use leases to provide support for such care. Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend through FY 2001 the authorization of appropriations for the homeless veterans reintegration project. Title IV: Economic Equity - Part A: Home Loan Guaranty Program - Revises the loan limits for Department-guaranteed loans made to veterans for the purchase or construction of homes. (Sec. 402) Makes permanent (currently terminates on October 27, 1999) a program providing Department-guaranteed housing loans to members and former members of the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a system for issuing certificates to such members representing their eligibility for such loans after completion of their required duty period. (Sec. 403) Exempts from Department-guaranteed loan fee requirements a veteran who first entered active duty after the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary to conduct in selected test sites a pilot program of revised procedures in cases of veterans' defaults of Department-guaranteed loans. Prohibits conveyance to the Secretary of the property that secured such loan. Directs the Secretary to publish proposed rules for notice and comment regarding the procedures for liquidating loans and paying guaranty claims under the program. Terminates the pilot program after five years. Part B: Other Programs - Authorizes members of the armed forces serving on active duty to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, limiting member contribution to five percent of basic pay plus any reenlistment bonus. Prohibits matching Federal contributions on behalf of such members. (Sec. 412) Establishes in the Office of the Secretary the Office of Veterans Business Assistance to provide veterans with: (1) access to information regarding services and assistance available to veterans who wish to operate small businesses and other subjects of use to such veterans; (2) assistance in gaining access to business capital; (3) management assistance; and (4) assistance in gaining access to markets for their products or services. Requires the Office to create and maintain an information clearinghouse through an Internet electronic site regarding Federal, State, local, and private sector programs of assistance to veterans and others. Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) provide a target of $10 million per fiscal year for loans to veterans' small businesses; (2) include disabled veterans' small businesses within certain Federal subcontracting goals; and (3) include veterans' and disabled veterans' small businesses within certain Federal procurement goals. Provides preliminary goals for the Departments of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs for participation by veterans' small businesses in Federal prime contract and subcontract awards. Directs the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to jointly develop and submit to the President a program of comprehensive outreach to assist veteran entrepreneurs. (Sec. 413) Terminates the Persian Gulf War period on February 28, 1993, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits and assistance. Title V: Organizational Structure - Directs the Department's Under Secretary for Health and DOD's Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs to establish a unified, joint policy staff responsible for: (1) identifying opportunities to increase joint, cooperative, and coordinated operations of the health care systems of such departments and the sharing of health care resources; and (2) initiating, facilitating, and monitoring efforts to utilize such opportunities. (Sec. 502) Requires any person who is an eligible health care beneficiary of either the Department or DOD to be eligible to receive from the other department the same health care services that such beneficiary is eligible to receive from the department of which the person is a primary beneficiary. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish policies and procedures for their respective departments to furnish health care to beneficiaries of the other department. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretaries to jointly enter into an agreement with an independent entity for the study of the physical infrastructure, the organizational structures, and the operations of the health care systems of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. (Sec. 504) Directs the Secretaries to: (1) review the geographic boundaries of the administrative structures of the field operations of their respective health care systems; and (2) take such action to make such boundaries congruent, except where doing so would interfere with the efficient furnishing of quality health care services. (Sec. 505) Directs the Secretary of Defense, at the time of the award or extension of TRICARE contracts, to recognize as military treatment facility equivalents within the geographic areas covered under such contracts Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities that: (1) agree to furnish health care services to DOD beneficiaries at or below the prices than non-government facilities would charge; (2) are capable of furnishing care of acceptable quality; and (3) certify that they are able to provide such services without detriment to the furnishing of care to veterans.
Bill· HRH.R. 610 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit as the treatment of an overpayment for Medicaid-related purposes any amount recovered or paid to a State as part of comprehensive settlement or judgment reached in litigation initiated or pursued by a State against one or more manufacturers of tobacco products (recovered amounts), if (and to the extent that) the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds that specified conditions will be met, including that the State has filed a plan with the Secretary that outlines specified expenditure guidelines requiring, among other things, that at least 40 percent of recovered amounts for a fiscal year be spent on certain smoking reduction programs such as smoking cessation programs and other anti-smoking programs and activities as well as school-based education programs. Requires recovered amounts not spent for such purposes to be spent only on various specified essential public health services, including described public health monitoring, enforcing, and evaluating activities. Provides that: (1) if the Secretary determines that recovered amounts are not being spent accordingly the Secretary shall take appropriate action to offset such amounts from the amounts otherwise paid to the State under Medicaid; and (2) amounts equivalent to the reductions in payments under Medicaid that are attributable to such recoveries which are not recouped or offset because of the first paragraph of this Act shall be deposited by the Secretary in a separate fund in the Treasury for use in carrying out Federal grant- in-aid programs to reduce tobacco use among minors. Makes this Act effective with regard to amounts recovered or paid to a State before, on, or after the enactment of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 571 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1999
Human Cloning Prevention Act of 1999 - Prohibits any Federal agency from making, or entering into any obligation to make, any grant, contract, or other payment to any business, institution, or organization that: (1) has engaged in human cloning in the past year; or (2) controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with any such business, institution, or organization.
Bill· SS. 365 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Children's Health Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for an increased Federal medical assistance percentage for expanded coverage of certain waivered low-income children in States which: (1) have established a Medicaid applicable income level for children under age 19 that is at or above 200 percent of the poverty line; and (2) demonstrate a commitment to reach and enroll such children. Defines "waivered low-income children" as those whose family income: (1) exceeds certain minimum Medicaid-eligible levels required to be established for the age of the child; but (2) does not exceed the Medicaid applicable income level for that child. Provides for expansion of the individuals and entities which may serve as qualified entities with regard to the Medicaid presumptive eligibility option for low-income children. Limits the number of waivered low-income children for a State for FY 1998 and each succeeding fiscal year.
Bill· SS. 350 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Military Health Care Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to direct the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the medical and dental coverage available through the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program) is substantially similar to the medical and dental coverage available under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program that has the most subscribers as of January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for the portability of benefits under the TRICARE program; and (2) minimize the certification requirements imposed upon TRICARE beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary to increase the level of reimbursement provided to TRICARE health care providers when necessary to ensure an adequate number of qualified providers under such program.
Bill· SS. 346 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any Medicaid-related funds recovered or paid to a State as part of a settlement or judgment reached in litigation the State initiated or pursued against one or more tobacco companies from being treated as an overpayment. Permits a State to use amounts recovered or paid to it as part of such a settlement or judgment for any appropriate expenditures, except with respect to any expenditure for administrative expenses incurred in initiating or pursuing tobacco litigation.
Law· HRH.R. 540 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Nursing Home Resident Protection Amendments of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit transfers or discharges of residents of nursing facilities because of a facility's voluntary withdrawal from participation in Medicaid as long as such residents resided in the facility before the withdrawal. Requires a withdrawn facility to provide specified notice to new residents who begin residence after the withdrawal that the facility: (1) is not participating in Medicaid with respect to that resident; and (2) may transfer or discharge the resident from the facility when the resident is unable to pay facility charges, even though the resident may have become eligible for Medicaid's nursing facility services.
Bill· HRH.R. 566 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Stand Down Authorization Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: (1) to carry out Stand Down events (events to provide veterans who are without a home, unemployed, experiencing health or social adjustment challenges, or otherwise in need with one to three days of safety and security and access to food, shelter, clothing, benefits certification, health care, or any other appropriate form of assistance); and (2) in connection with such events, to provide outreach services, use Department of Veterans Affairs personal property, and provide any other appropriate benefit or service. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary shall carry out a single Stand Down event in each State in each calendar year, beginning in 2000. Requires an annual report to the Congress on pilot program implementation and recommendations for legislation.
Bill· HRH.R. 524 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Screening Mammography Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require that a group health plan (and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage) that provides coverage for diagnostic mammography for any class of participants or beneficiaries also cover annual screening mammography for that class under terms that are not less favorable. Prohibits: (1) denying screening coverage on the basis that it is not medically necessary or not pursuant to a referral or recommendation; (2) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal solely to avoid this requirement; (3) providing monetary incentives to participants or beneficiaries to encourage them to accept less; or (4) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Allows State laws providing at least these protections. (Sec. 3) Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the requirements of the above paragraph to health coverage in the individual market. (Sec. 4) Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit payment for a screening mammography performed more often than annually. (Sec. 5) Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate coverage of annual screening mammographies.
Bill· HRH.R. 557 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Community Safety Act of 1999 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to exempt from certain (anti-kickback) criminal penalties any hospital remunerations to an ambulance provider owned or operated by a State or local government or a tax-exempt charitable organization that are in kind replenishments of certain ambulance drugs and supplies used during the transport of a patient to the hospital. Prohibits the determination of such remuneration in a manner that takes into account the volume or value of any referrals or business otherwise generated between the parties for which payment may be made in whole or in part under a Federal health care program.
Bill· HRH.R. 553 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Prohibits a State from discriminating against a dental health care professional on the basis that such individual is a resident of another State or was first 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. 549 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the non-preemption of State prescription drug coverage mandates in connection with Medicare+Choice plans under SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) in cases of approved State Medigap waivers under Medicare.
Bill· HRH.R. 567 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Physician Availability Act of 1999 - Requires each non-Federal hospital with a specified participation agreement under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, participating under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act, or receiving Federal funds, and with at least 100 licensed beds, to have a qualified physician available in the hospital (other than in the emergency department) 24 hours a day, seven days a week to attend to the hospital's inpatients. Provides for enforcement, including through civil penalties and suspension or disqualification from Medicare or Medicaid.
Bill· HRH.R. 528 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1999
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act Amendments of 1999 - Exempts a physician clinical office laboratory from Public Health Service Act certification requirements, except when such laboratory performs a pap smear (Papanicolaou Smear) analysis.
Bill· HRH.R. 491 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Medicare+Choice Program Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends parts C (Medicare+Choice) and D (Miscellaneous Provisions) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act concerning the Medicare+Choice and Medigap programs to, among other things: (1) allow enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans of Medicare beneficiaries whose Medicare+Choice organizations or group health plans under which they are enrolled have provided notice of intended coverage termination; (2) guarantee access for certain Medicare beneficiaries to Medigap policies in case of involuntary termination of coverage under a Medicare+Choice plan; (3) apply Medicare+Choice and Medigap consumer protections to disabled and end-stage renal disease Medicare beneficiaries; (4) prohibit attained-age rating of premiums for Medigap policies; (5) provide for non-preemption of State prescription drug coverage mandates in case of approved State Medigap waivers; (6) prohibit "cold-call" marketing of Medicare+Choice plans; (7) grant flexibility in the definition of the term "service area" under the Medicare+Choice program; (8) provide for a three-year phase-in of risk adjustment of Medicare+Choice plan payments; (9) allow delays in certain deadlines under the Medicare+Choice program, such as delay in the rate promulgation deadline; (10) account for costs of Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense military facility services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in calculating Medicare+Choice plan payment rates; (11) increase civil monetary penalties for failure to meet Medigap open enrollment requirements; and (12) provide for National Association of Insurance Commissioners, at the request of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, review, and, along with the Secretary, update of benefit packages for Medigap policies.
Bill· HRH.R. 475 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
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.
Law· HRH.R. 441 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a four-year nonimmigrant (H-1C visa) classification for nonimmigrant registered nurses in health professional shortage areas. Requires that an alien: (1) have a full foreign nursing license or has received U.S. nursing education; (2) have passed an appropriate examination or is a licensed nurse in the State of intended employment; and (3) be fully eligible to begin work in the petitioning facility. Requires the facility to file an employment attestation with the Department of Labor with respect to such alien (or aliens) evidencing that: (1) similarly employed nurse's wages and conditions will not be adversely affected; (2) the alien's wages will be the same as other similarly employed nurses; (3) steps are being taken to recruit U.S. nurses (as set forth by this Act); (4) no labor dispute is involved; (5) no more than one-third of the facility's registered nurses will be H-1C aliens; and (6) employment will not be performed at a facility other than the petitioning facility. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) compile a public list of petitioning facilities; (2) establish a process for complaint receipt, investigation, and disposition (including civil monetary penalties) against a noncomplying facility; and (3) impose an attestation filing fee of up to $250. Limits: (1) aggregate fiscal year H-1C entrants to 500; and (2) fiscal year entrants in any one State to 25 and 50 in States with less or more than nine million inhabitants, respectively. Defines "facility" as a hospital: (1) in a health shortage area; (2) with at least 190 acute care beds; and (3) with at least 35 percent and 28 percent of its patients being Medicare and Medicaid patients, respectively. Repeals the nonimmigrant nursing program (H-1A visa). (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to recommend: (1) an alternative to the H-1C program as a permanent remedy to the registered nurse shortage; and (2) a more effective program enforcement system. (Sec. 4) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain nurses and physical therapists from foreign health care worker certification requirements.
Bill· HRH.R. 448 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Patient Protection Act of 1999 - Title I: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - 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 imposing on a health professional any restriction on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 1001) Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization and without regard to network limitations) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without authorization or referral by a primary care provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist care benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. Subtitle C: New Procedures and Access to Courts for Grievance Arising Under Group Health Plans - Requires group health plans to: (1) provide written notice to participants or beneficiaries and providers of adverse coverage decisions; and (2) meet specified time limits for responding to routine, urgent, and emergency benefit payment requests, coverage advance determinations, and medical necessity determinations. Provides for initial coverage decision internal and, in certain circumstances, external review. (Sec. 1201) Makes a plan's fiduciary who, after an external review recommends coverage, causes a failure to provide a benefit, liable to the participant or beneficiary for a civil penalty and attorney's fees and costs. Allows assessment of a civil penalty against a fiduciary for any pattern or practice of repeated adverse coverage decisions in violation of the terms of the plan or ERISA. Allows an action before exhaustion of administrative remedies. Provides for concurrent Federal-State court jurisdiction for actions relating to certain amendments made by this Act. Subtitle D: Affordable Health Coverage for Employees of Small Businesses - Small Business Affordable Health Coverage Act of 1999 - Defines "association health plan" to mean a group health plan meeting specified requirements, including being sponsored by a trade, industry, or professional association, a chamber of commerce (or a similar business association) organized and maintained for substantial purposes other than obtaining or providing medical care. Provides for association plan certification and mandates a class certification procedure. (Sec. 1302) Regulates association plans' boards of trustees and sponsors. Prohibits, for plans in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, a sponsor's affiliated members from being offered coverage unless the member: (1) was affiliated on the certification date; or (2) did not maintain or contribute to a group health plan during the 12 months before the offering of coverage. Prohibits a participating employer from providing health coverage in the individual market for any employee who is eligible for plan coverage if the exclusion from plan coverage is based on health status. Prohibits excluding an employer from an association plan if the employer and plan each meet specified requirements. Prohibits contribution rates for any participating small employers from varying on the basis of claims experience or type of business. Requires, if any plan benefit option does not consist of health coverage, that the plan have at least 1,000 participants and beneficiaries. Requires, if a benefit option consisting of health coverage is offered under the plan, that State-licensed insurance agents be used to distribute to small employers coverage that is not health coverage in a manner comparable to the manner in which those agents are used to distribute health coverage. Requires that a plan consist only of health coverage or, if the plan provides any additional benefit options, that the plan meet certain reserve and excess stop loss insurance and solvency indemnification requirements regarding the additional benefit options for which risk has not yet been transferred. Requires that all plans maintain a specified surplus. Requires association plans providing additional options to make annual payments to the Association Health Plan Fund. Requires that, when there is or will be a failure to maintain such reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, the Secretary of Labor pay amounts as necessary to maintain the excess stop loss insurance or indemnification. Establishes the Fund. Mandates advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of certified plan termination. Requires, when a plan has failed or will fail to maintain required reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification, either corrective action or plan termination. Provides for court appointment of the Secretary as trustee to administer a plan during insolvency. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association plan providing additional options if the plan began operations in the State after enactment of this Act. Sets forth special rules for church plans. Declares that the provisions of this subtitle supersede certain related State laws. (Sec. 1303) Modifies the circumstances in which two or more trades or businesses must be deemed a single employer. (Sec. 1304) Excludes from the definition of "multiple employer welfare arrangement" any arrangement: (1) established or maintained under specified Federal (or similar State) labor relations provisions; or (2) meeting certain collective bargaining and other requirements. (Sec. 1305) Imposes criminal penalties for falsely representing any benefit as: (1) being a certified association plan; or (2) having been established or maintained under certain collective bargaining agreements. (Sec. 1306) Allows a State to enter into an agreement with the Secretary for delegation to the State of some or all of the Secretary's enforcement or certification authority. Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, from imposing on a health professional any restriction on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 2001) Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization and without regard to network limitations) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine them necessary; (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. (Sec. 2002) Requires health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide coverage under a group health plan only if services are furnished exclusively through members of a closed panel to make available to the plan sponsor an option covering services without regard to whether the providers are panel members. Requires HMOs, when a plan sponsor declines that option, to make optional supplemental coverage available in the individual market to each plan participant. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. Subtitle C: HealthMarts - Health Care Consumer Empowerment Act of 1999 - Requires that HealthMarts: (1) be nonprofit legal entities composed of small employers, employees of small employers, health care providers, and entities that underwrite or administer health benefits coverage; and (2) make available health coverage to all small employers and eligible employees at rates established by the insurance issuer on a policy or product specific basis. Deems HealthMarts group health plans for purposes of specified provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Requires that coverage made available to an eligible employee in a geographic area be offered to all eligible employees in the same area. (Sec. 2202) Declares that the HealthMart: (1) provides coverage only through contracts with issuers and does not assume insurance risk; (2) provides administrative services for purchasers; and (3) collects and disseminates consumer information on all coverage options offered through the HealthMart. Requires that HealthMart coverage provide full portability of creditable coverage for individuals who remain members of the same HealthMart notwithstanding that they change employers. Allows HealthMart coverage to include coverage: (1) through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, or a community health organization; (2) that includes a point-of-service option; or (3) any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit any small employer to contract for coverage and prohibits varying eligibility conditions. Prohibits the purchaser from obtaining or sponsoring coverage other than through the HealthMart. Prohibits enrollment discrimination based on health. Supersedes certain related State laws. Provides for the application of: (1) certain existing ERISA and Public Health Service Act requirements; and (2) renewability requirements when the contract between a HealthMart and an issuer is terminated. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to administer this subtitle through a separate Health Care Marketplace Division. Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations - Allows a community health organization to offer health coverage in a State in spite of not being licensed in that State if the organization has received a licensure waiver from the Secretary of Health and Human Services and other requirements are met. (Sec. 2301) Mandates the establishment of Federal financial solvency and capital adequacy standards. Title III: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Subtitle A: Patient Protections - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from imposing on a health professional any restriction on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 3001) Requires a plan, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergencies, to provide benefits (without preauthorization and without regard to network limitations) for emergency medical screening examinations if a prudent layperson would determine the examinations necessary; or (2) routine gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without an authorization or referral by a primary provider. Requires a plan or issuer, if it provides benefits for routine pediatric specialist benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary provider. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions. Mandates advance notice of exclusion from a drug formulary of a drug or biological that is used in the treatment of a chronic illness or disease. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts - Repeals provisions limiting the number of individuals having medical savings accounts. Allows all employers to offer the accounts. Modifies requirements regarding: (1) the monthly limitation on related deductions; (2) coordination with the exclusion for employer contributions; and (3) the deductible amounts that will qualify as a high deductible plan. Allows the accounts to be included in cafeteria plans. Sets forth special rules for individuals receiving immediate Federal annuities. (Sec. 3202) Allows medical savings accounts to be used by persons with incomes under a certain amount to pay for insurance offered by a community health center. (Sec. 3203) Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) patients are best served when they are empowered to make informed choices about their health care and their health insurance; and (2) a system that gives people the power to choose coverage, combined with insurance market reforms, offers great promise of increased choices and greater access to health insurance for Americans. Title IV: Health Care Lawsuit Reform - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Declares that this title applies to any health care liability action in any State or Federal court, except actions: (1) relating to vaccine-related injury to which title XXI (Vaccines) of the Public Health Service Act applies; or (2) under ERISA. Preempts State laws inconsistent with this title, unless they impose greater restrictions than those in this title. Excludes economic or punitive damages and attorneys' fees or costs from the determination of the amount in controversy. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Health Care Liability Actions - Establishes a statute of limitations for bringing a health care liability action. (Sec. 4012) Limits non-economic damages. Substitutes any different level set by a State after enactment of this Act. Makes defendants liable only for the proportion of the damages due to the defendant's fault. Allows punitive damages, to the extent permitted by State law, if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's conduct intended to cause harm or manifested a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or product seller of a drug or medical device where the drug or device was subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket approval or the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages relating to packaging or labeling of a drug that is required to have tamper-resistant packaging unless the packaging or labeling is found by clear and convincing evidence to be substantially out of compliance. Prohibits requiring lump-sum payment of future economic and non- economic damages over $50,000. Allows any defendant to introduce evidence of collateral source payments. Prohibits any collateral source payments provider from recovering any amount against the claimant, receiving any lien or credit against the recovery, or being subrogated to the claimant's rights. (Sec. 4013) Requires any alternative dispute resolution used to resolve a health care liability action or claim to contain provisions consistent with this title. (Sec. 4014) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all United States Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims and civil health care; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines. Title V: Confidentiality of Health Information - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to add a new part D (Confidentiality of Protected Health Information) that requires health care providers, health plans, employers, health or life insurers, or educational institutions to permit an individual who is the subject of protected health information to inspect and copy the information. Requires, if the individual requests addition of a supplemental statement to the information, that those parties: (1) add the statement and make reasonable efforts to inform any person to whom the information was disclosed during the preceding year; or (2) if addition of the statement is refused, allow the individual to file a statement of disagreement. (Sec. 5001) Requires health care providers, health plans, health oversight agencies, public health authorities, employers, health or life insurers, health researchers, or educational institutions to maintain safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, security, accuracy, and integrity of protected health information. Requires any person who maintains protected health information to disclose the information to a health care provider or health plan to permit the provider or plan to conduct health care operations, but prohibits providers and plans from selling or bartering protected health information. Preempts State law provisions that: (1) are inconsistent with certain provisions of this title under Article VI (dealing with national supremacy, among other matters) of the United States Constitution; or (2) relate to specified matters dealt with in this title. Imposes civil fines for substantially and materially failing to comply with this title. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to refuse to enter into, terminate, or refuse to renew an agreement with a physician or supplier that has violated this title. Requires compliance with certain provisions of this title by Medicare+Choice organizations under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice), Medicare providers, and HMOs with risk-sharing contracts. (Sec. 5002) Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on the effect of State laws on health-related research subject to review by an institutional review board or institutional review committee with regard to the protection of human subjects. (Sec. 5003) Requires the Comptroller General to submit to the Congress a compilation of State laws on the confidentiality of protected health information and an analysis of the effect of those laws on the provision of, and the securing of payment for, health care. (Sec. 5004) Exempts information developed by a health care provider in response to a serious, adverse, patient-related event and for specified purposes (health care response information) from any disclosure requirement, in connection with a civil or administrative proceeding under Federal or State law, to the same extent as information developed by the provider regarding peer review, utilization review, quality management or improvement, quality control, risk management, or internal review to reduce mortality, morbidity, or patient care or safety. Prohibits deeming the protection of health care response information from disclosure modified by the development of such information in connection with a request or requirement of an accrediting body or the transfer of that information to an accrediting body.
Bill· HRH.R. 477 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Traumatic Brain Injury Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health's trauma research program to make grants or contracts for research regarding cognitive disorders arising from traumatic brain injury.
Bill· HRH.R. 470 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend the higher Federal medical assistance percentage for payment for Indian Health Service facilities to urban Indian health programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 458 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Children's Health Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for an increased Federal medical assistance percentage for expanded coverage of certain waivered low-income children in States which: (1) have established a Medicaid applicable income level for children under age 19 that is at or above 200 percent of the poverty line; and (2) demonstrate a commitment to reach and enroll such children. Defines "waivered low-income children" as those whose family income: (1) exceeds certain minimum Medicaid-eligible levels required to be established for the age of the child; but (2) does not exceed the Medicaid applicable income level for that child. Provides for expansion of the individuals and entities which may serve as qualified entities with regard to the Medicaid presumptive eligibility option for low-income children. Limits the number of waivered low-income children for a State for FY 1998 and each succeeding fiscal year.
Bill· HRH.R. 442 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1999
Increases to 59.8 the Federal medical assistance percentage for the State of Hawaii for purposes of the Medicaid program and the Children's Health Insurance program under, respectively, titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act.
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