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1,101 records in US in 2017
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
End Surprise Billing Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a critical access hospital or other hospital to comply, as a condition of participation in Medicare, with certain requirements related to billing for out-of-network services. With respect to an individual who has health benefits coverage and is seeking services, a hospital must provide notice as to: (1) whether the hospital, or any of the providers furnishing services to the individual at the hospital, is not within the health care provider network or otherwise a participating provider with respect to the individual's health care coverage; and (2) if so, the estimated out-of-pocket costs of the services to the individual. At least 24 hours prior to providing those services, the hospital must document that the individual: (1) has been provided with the required notice, and (2) consents to be furnished with the services and charged an amount approximate to the estimate provided. Otherwise, the hospital may not charge the individual more than the individual would have been required to pay if the services had been furnished by an in-network or participating provider. With respect to such an individual who is seeking same-day emergency services, a hospital may not charge more than the individual would be required to pay for such services furnished by an in-network or participating provider.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2017
Mark Takai Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1980, as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 1 February 2017
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program, including by: (1) delaying the implementation of the ozone NAAQS that were published in 2015; (2) changing the review cycle for criteria pollutant NAAQS from a 5-year review cycle to a 10-year review cycle; and (3) prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from completing its next review of ozone NAAQS before October 26, 2025. The EPA may consider, as a secondary consideration, likely technological feasibility in establishing and revising NAAQS for a pollutant if a range of air quality levels for such pollutant are requisite to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety. Prior to establishing or revising NAAQS, the EPA must obtain advice from its scientific advisory committee. The EPA must publish regulations and guidance for implementing NAAQS concurrently with the issuance of a new or revised standard. New or revised NAAQS may not apply to preconstruction permits for constructing or modifying a stationary source of air pollutants until those regulations and guidance have been published. The bill provides that in extreme ozone nonattainment areas, contingency measures are not required to be included in nonattainment plans. Technological achievability and economic feasibility must be taken into consideration in plan revisions for milestones for particulate matter nonattainment areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 This bill amends the Clean Air Act by revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program. The bill delays the implementation of the ozone NAAQS that were published in 2015. The bill extends until: (1) October 26, 2024, the deadline for states to submit designations to implement the 2015 ozone NAAQS; and (2) October 26, 2025, the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate state areas as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable areas with respect to the 2015 ozone NAAQS. States must submit a state implementation plan (SIP) by October 26, 2026, to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2015 ozone NAAQS. The bill also changes the review cycle for criteria pollutant NAAQS from a 5-year review cycle to a 10-year review cycle. The EPA may not complete its next review of ozone NAAQS before October 26, 2025. Prior to establishing or revising NAAQS, the EPA must obtain advice from its scientific advisory committee regarding potential adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects which may result from attaining and maintaining NAAQS. The EPA must publish regulations and guidance for implementing NAAQS concurrently with the issuance of a new or revised standard. New or revised NAAQS must not apply to preconstruction permits for constructing or modifying a major emitting facility or major stationary source of air pollutants until those regulations and guidance have been published. The bill revises requirements concerning SIPs for extreme ozone nonattainment areas and particulate matter nonattainment areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2017 This bill repeals existing caps on Medicare payment for certain outpatient physical-therapy services and speech-language pathology services. Under current law, annual payment for such services is capped at $1,980 in 2017, with specified percentage increases to that limit in subsequent years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. The nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board must include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole menu item; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per common unit of the item, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Nutritional information may be provided solely by a remote-access menu (e.g., an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises. Establishments with self-serve food may comply with the requirements for restaurants or place signs with nutritional information adjacent to each food item. An establishment's nutrient content disclosures may vary from actual nutrient content if the disclosures comply with current standards for reasonable basis. Establishments with standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, that are listed as a single menu item can determine and disclose nutritional information using specified methods or methods allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Regulations pursuant to this bill or the clause amended by this bill cannot take effect earlier than two years after final regulations are promulgated. The FDA may not exempt states from nutrition labeling requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to terminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Under PPACA, the IPAB is tasked with developing proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to replace the existing Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training (or SOAR to Health and Wellness Training) program with a pilot program that includes the same functions and additional initiatives. The pilot program must train health care providers and other related providers to: (1) identify potential human trafficking victims, (2) work with law enforcement to report and facilitate communication with such victims, (3) refer victims to social or victims service agencies or organizations, and (4) provide such victims with coordinated care tailored to their circumstances. HHS must report on the number of facilities operating under the pilot program, the number of providers trained through the pilot program, and these numbers for the program operating before the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2017 This bill repeals existing caps on Medicare payment for certain outpatient physical-therapy services and speech-language pathology services. Under current law, annual payment for such services is capped at $1,980 in 2017, with specified percentage increases to that limit in subsequent years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Medicare Drug Savings Act of 2017 This bill requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for prescription drugs dispensed to eligible low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug benefit or a Medicare Advantage (MA) prescription drug plan (PDP). Subject to civil monetary penalties, a Medicare or MA PDP sponsor must report, both to drug manufacturers and to the CMS, specified information related to the determination and payment of such rebates.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Protecting Medicare from Executive Action Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to terminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Under PPACA, the IPAB is tasked with developing proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
This joint resolution initiates the process to terminate the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which issues annual recommendations for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures. Under current law, the enactment of a such a joint resolution is required in order to terminate the board.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
This joint resolution initiates the process to terminate the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which issues annual recommendations for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures. Under current law, the enactment of a such a joint resolution is required in order to terminate the board.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
Appalachian Communities Health Emergency Act or ACHE Act This bill requires the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support studies on the health impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining on individuals in the surrounding communities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), upon receiving the results of these studies, must determine whether such mining presents any health risks to individuals in those communities. This bill applies to surface coal mining that uses blasting with explosives in the steep slope regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. The bill prohibits authorization for any mountaintop removal coal mining project or expansion under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 unless HHS determines that such mining does not present any health risk to individuals in the surrounding communities. The bill requires monitoring of air, water, and soil for pollution, including noise pollution, until HHS makes its determination. HHS must publish pollution monitoring results. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement of the Department of the Interior must assess a one-time fee upon such mining projects, sufficient to cover the federal cost of the studies and pollution monitoring required by this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2017
This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to establish a Federal Medical Assistance Percentage of 100% with respect to a U.S. territory's use of specified federal funds to provide covered drugs to low-income individuals who are eligible for the Medicare prescription drug benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2017 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a pilot program, to be known as Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training (or SOAR to Health and Wellness Training), to train health care providers and other related providers to: identify potential human trafficking victims, work with law enforcement to report and facilitate communication with such victims, refer victims to social or victims service agencies or organizations, provide such victims with coordinated care tailored to their circumstances, and consider integrating this training with existing training programs. The pilot program must include the functions of the training program with the same name that was operating before this bill's enactment and the following initiatives: engaging stakeholders to develop a flexible training module, supporting training in diverse health care sites, providing technical assistance to health education programs, developing a strategy to incentivize the use of training materials developed under this bill and the implementation of a nationwide health care protocol, and developing a methodology for collecting and reporting data on the number of human trafficking victims served in health care settings or other related provider settings. The pilot program is authorized through FY2022. HHS must report on the number of facilities operating under the pilot program, the number of providers trained through the pilot program, and these numbers for the program operating before the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2017 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. The nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board must include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole menu item; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per common unit of the item, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Nutritional information may be provided solely by a remote-access menu (e.g., an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises. Establishments with self-serve food may comply with the requirements for restaurants or place signs with nutritional information adjacent to each food item. An establishment's nutrient content disclosures may vary from actual nutrient content if the disclosures comply with current standards for reasonable basis. Establishments with standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, that are listed as a single menu item may determine and disclose nutritional information using specified methods or methods allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Regulations pursuant to this bill or the clause amended by this bill may not take effect earlier than two years after final regulations are promulgated. The FDA may not exempt states from nutrition labeling requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a five-year pilot program to expand Medicare coverage of telehealth services for enrollees who reside in public housing. Specifically, the program shall provide for Medicare coverage with respect to "store-and-forward technologies" (i.e., the electronic transmission of medical information, such as digital images), which are covered as telehealth services under current law only with respect to demonstration programs conducted in Alaska and Hawaii. In addition, the program shall provide for increased flexibility with respect to geographic and other requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act or the DAIRY PRIDE Act This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the sale of any food that uses the market name of a dairy product, is not the milk of a hooved animal, is not derived from such milk, and does not contain such milk as a primary ingredient.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to eliminate restrictions on state Medicaid program coverage of nonprescription drugs for tobacco cessation. Under current law, a state Medicaid program may exclude from coverage, or otherwise restrict, such drugs, except for those recommended to pregnant women.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2017
This joint resolution initiates the process to terminate the Independent Medicare Advisory Board, which issues annual recommendations for reducing growth in Medicare expenditures. Under current law, the enactment of a such a joint resolution is required in order to terminate the board.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a separate Medicare benefit category for complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items that: (1) are designed or configured to meet an individual's unique needs and capacities; (2) are primarily used to serve a medical or functional purpose; and (3) require certain services to ensure appropriate design, configuration, and use. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall designate CRT items and establish eligibility criteria with respect to such items, in accordance with specified exclusions and other requirements. The CMS must also establish: (1) a payment system applicable to CRT items, subject to clinical conditions and other specified requirements; (2) quality standards for suppliers of CRT items; and (3) a formal process for the submission of certain CRT code-set modification requests by stakeholder groups. If specified requirements are met, Medicare payment must be made for the replacement of a CRT item (or item part), without regard to certain continuous-use or useful-lifetime restrictions applicable to items of durable medical equipment. In addition, Medicare payment may be made for the temporary rental of a CRT item if such an item owned by a qualified enrollee is undergoing necessary repairs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permanently extend the application by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of an instruction against the enforcement of certain physician supervision requirements with respect to outpatient therapeutic services in critical access hospitals and small rural hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Lower Drug Costs through Competition Act This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise provisions regarding review and approval of generic drug applications or supplements to generic drug applications for drugs: (1) for which there is a shortage, or (2) that have not been recently introduced to the market by more than one manufacturer and for which tentative approval has not been granted to more than two applications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must prioritize the review of such submissions and act on them within 180 days. The FDA may expedite the inspection of a facility proposed to manufacture such a drug. Beginning FY2019, the FDA must award a transferrable generic drug priority review voucher to the sponsor of such an application once the drug has a sustained market presence. A voucher may be used to have the FDA review and take action upon a generic drug application within 180 days of submission. The FDA must establish an additional user fee for applications subject to a voucher. This voucher program is terminated at the start of FY2024. The FDA must periodically report on generic drug applications filed before FY2018 that are still pending. For a new drug application to be eligible for a priority review voucher as a tropical disease product application, the application must include new, essential clinical investigations. The Government Accountability Office must study the FDA's program for drug risk evaluation and mitigation strategies.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Expresses support for the designation of DIPG Awareness Day. ("DIPG" is diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a terminal childhood brain cancer.) Encourages the National Cancer Institute and other research funders to elevate their consideration of the mortality rate of a type of cancer as well as the life years lost as factors considered during the grant application process.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Rural Hospital Regulatory Relief Act of 2017 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permanently extend the application by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of an instruction against the enforcement of certain physician supervision requirements with respect to outpatient therapeutic services in critical access hospitals and small rural hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
Protect Funding for Women's Health Care Act This bill prohibits federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America or its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, or clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2017
This joint resolution nullifies a Department of Health and Human Services rule regarding subrecipients of family planning grants. (Under the rule, grant recipients may prohibit an entity from receiving a subaward only for reasons related to the entity's ability to provide family planning services.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Compassionate Access Act This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to submit to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) a recommendation to transfer marijuana from schedule I to another controlled substances schedule. The DEA must consider the recommendation and issue a final rule to reclassify marijuana. It permits, for reclassification purposes, consideration of scientifically sound research conducted in a state that allows medical marijuana and in accordance with state law, even if such research uses non-federally approved marijuana. The legislation amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to: exclude "cannabidiol" (CBD) from the definition of "marijuana" and remove it from coverage under the CSA; limit the concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in CBD to 0.3% on a dry weight basis; and deem marijuana grown or processed to make CBD, in accordance with state law, to comply with the THC concentration limit unless the DEA determines state law to be unreasonable. No provision of the CSA or Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits or restricts a physician from prescribing; a patient, caregiver, or guardian from obtaining, possessing, or transporting; an entity from producing, processing, manufacturing, or distributing; a pharmacy from dispensing; or a laboratory from testing medical marijuana or CBD in compliance with a state's medical marijuana law. The bill requires the Attorney General to delegate responsibility for registering marijuana researchers to an executive branch agency that supports research on substances' medical value. Such agency must ensure adequate marijuana supply for medical research.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Health Coverage State Flexibility Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to revise the grace period that health insurers must provide to recipients of premium subsidies before discontinuing health coverage for nonpayment of premiums. The grace period is shortened from 3 months to 30 days unless state law includes an applicable grace period.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Health Care Choices for Seniors Act This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Medicare Alternative Voucher (MAV) Program, under which a voucher may be used as a contribution into a health savings account and for the payment of enrollment premiums under a high-deductible health plan. HHS must establish a procedure under which an individual otherwise entitled to Medicare benefits may waive such entitlement and be automatically enrolled in the MAV Program. In addition, the bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of the deduction from gross income for health savings accounts by the amount of the MAV that is contributed to an individual's health savings account. The bill also suspends Medicare late enrollment penalties for an individual between ages 65 and 70.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marihuana Act or LUMMA This bill transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. It specifies that no provision of the Controlled Substances Act prohibits or restricts activities related to medical marijuana that comply with a state's medical marijuana law. This bill does not affect any federal, state, or local law that regulates or prohibits smoking in public.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
State Age Rating Flexibility Act of 2017 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to increase the permissible variation based on age for health insurance premiums for coverage offered in the individual or small group market from a factor of three to a factor of five, or to a factor determined by the state. This applies to plan years starting on or after January 1, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Plan Verification and Fairness Act of 2017 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require health insurance exchanges to verify an individual's eligibility for a special enrollment period before coverage is made effective. Individuals seeking coverage through an exchange during a special enrollment period must submit to the exchange the documents necessary to verify their eligibility for the special enrollment period. The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services must report on enrollment during special enrollment periods for plan year 2016. The report must include the number of individuals who: (1) sought to enroll during a special enrollment period but were prohibited, (2) were prohibited because they did not provide documentation supporting eligibility, and (3) were prohibited because they provided invalid documentation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Verify Eligibility Coverage Act The bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow a state to delay or deny an individual's initial eligibility for Medicaid benefits without providing a reasonable opportunity to submit evidence of a satisfactory immigration status or pending official verification of such status. A state that elects to provide a reasonable period for an individual to provide such evidence may not receive payment for amounts expended on the individual's medical assistance during that period. In FY2018-FY2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, using the Medicaid Improvement Fund, shall pay a 90% federal matching rate to eligible states for home- and community-based services furnished under a state Medicaid waiver to patients who had been on a waiting list for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Thanks and promotes the profession of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) by encouraging patients, hospital administrators, health care professionals, policymakers, and others to become more familiar with CRNAs by participating in National CRNA Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2017
Expresses support for the designation of National Bladder Health Month.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Trickett Wendler Right to Try Act of 2017 This bill requires the federal government to allow unrestricted manufacturing, distribution, prescribing, and dispensing of experimental drugs, biological products, and medical devices that are: (1) intended to treat a patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and (2) authorized by state law. The federal government must allow unrestricted possession and use of such treatments by patients certified by a physician as having exhausted all other treatment options. A manufacturer, distributor, prescriber, dispenser, possessor, or user of such a treatment has no liability regarding the treatment. The outcome of manufacture, distribution, prescribing, dispensing, possession, or use of such a treatment may not be used by a federal agency to adversely impact review or approval of the treatment. The treatment must: (1) have successfully completed a phase 1 (initial, small scale) clinical trial; (2) remain under investigation in a clinical trial approved by the Food and Drug Administration; and (3) not be approved, licensed, or cleared for sale under the Federal Food, Drug, or Cosmetic Act or the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Every Child is a Blessing Act of 2017 This bill prohibits recovery of damages in certain civil actions based on a claim that, but for the conduct of the defendant, a child, once conceived, would not or should not have been born. The prohibition applies to claims based on a child's disability, defect, abnormality, race, sex, or other inborn characteristic. The bill bars such prohibition from being construed to: (1) provide a defense against charges of intentional misrepresentation in state proceedings regulating the professional practices of health care providers and practitioners; (2) provide a defense in any criminal action, including cases of rape or incest; or (3) limit damages in cases where the conduct of the defendant caused personal injury or death to the child or gestational mother.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
CBRN Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 2017 This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) support homeland security-focused intelligence analysis of terrorist actors, their claims, and their plans to conduct attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials against the United States and of global infectious disease, public health, food, agricultural, and veterinary issues; (2) support homeland security-focused risk analysis and risk assessments of such homeland security hazards by providing quantitative and nonquantitative threat information; (3) leverage homeland security intelligence capabilities and structures to enhance prevention, protection, response, and recovery efforts with respect to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack; and (4) share information and provide tailored analytical support on these threats to state, local, and tribal authorities as well as relevant national biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders and other federal agencies. The Office shall coordinate with other DHS components, other intelligence community agencies, and federal, state, local, and tribal authorities and enable such entities to provide recommendations on optimal information sharing mechanisms and on how they can provide information to DHS. DHS shall report annually for five years on: (1) intelligence and information sharing activities to counter the threat from attacks using chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials, and (2) DHS's activities in accordance with relevant intelligence strategies. DHS shall ensure that homeland security information analyzed by it concerning terrorist threats is provided to state, local, tribal, and private entities and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Preserving Access to Medicaid for Americans Act of 2017 This bill amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to eliminate: (1) certain Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payment reductions for states that did not implement Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and (2) specified maintenance-of-effort requirements for states with respect to CHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Obamacare Replacement Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Social Security Act to repeal certain provisions regarding health insurance, including: the requirement for individuals to maintain minimum essential coverage, limitations on insurers varying premiums by age or health status, requirements for health insurance to cover preexisting conditions and the essential health benefits, and the prohibition on lifetime or annual limits on benefits. The bill allows a refundable tax credit for a percentage of health insurance premiums and a tax credit for health savings account (HSA) contributions. The bill eliminates HSA contribution limits and allows all individuals to make contributions to HSAs. HSAs may be used to pay for over-the-counter medications and health insurance in addition to currently allowed medical expenses. The tax deduction for medical care is expanded to include exercise equipment, exercise or health instruction, gym memberships, nutritional supplements, and periodic, pre-paid, or capitated primary care fees. Physicians may deduct uncompensated and charity care. The bill provides for the establishment and governance of: (1) independent health pools, which are entities that form risk pools to offer health insurance coverage to their members; and (2) association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by business associations. Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must (currently, may) waive Medicaid requirements to enable states to carry out experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects. The bill exempts health care professionals from federal and state antitrust laws in connection with negotiations with a health plan to provide health care items or services. Stop-loss insurance obtained by certain health plans or plan sponsors is exempt from requirements for health insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term "born alive" means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut. Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. An individual who violates the provisions of this bill is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder. The bill bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate these provisions, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Public Health Emergency Response and Accountability Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services, upon determination of a public health emergency, to provide for the convening of a group of federal officials to prepare monthly reports concerning such matters as funding, collaboration, and best practices. The bill makes appropriations to the Public Health Emergency Fund upon determination of an emergency. Funding is subject to a calculation that compares amounts available in the fund to average public health emergency relief expenditures over preceding fiscal years. The bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to exempt the fund from sequestration, a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report on: the capacity of the public health system to respond effectively to infectious disease outbreaks, the coordination between federal, state, and local government entities when responding to infectious disease outbreaks, the most effective ways to provide or allocate resources for public health emergency response, and an audit of how funds for public health emergencies have been expended within the last two years. GAO must also issue a post-emergency report on response efforts by government entities.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2017
Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act This bill establishes the Medicare for All Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Only public or nonprofit institutions may participate. Nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities may participate. Patients may choose from participating physicians and institutions. Health insurers may not sell health insurance that duplicates the benefits provided under this bill. Insurers may sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. The bill sets forth methods to pay institutional providers and health professionals for services. Financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization are prohibited. The program is funded: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care, (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income, (4) by instituting a tax on unearned income, and (5) by instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions. Amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), are transferred and appropriated to carry out this bill. The program must give employment transition benefits and first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced clerical and administrative work under this bill. The Department of Health and Human Services must create a confidential electronic patient record system. The bill establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. The Indian Health Service must be integrated into the program after five years. Congress must evaluate the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs health programs.