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Bill· HRH.R. 3070 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1999
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 - Title I: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency and Related Provisions - Subtitle A: Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to establish a Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (TWSSP) under which a disabled beneficiary may use a TWSSP ticket issued by the Commissioner to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services, pursuant to an appropriate individual beneficiary work plan that meets specified requirements. Includes among such requirements goals for earnings and job advancement, at the Commissioner's expense, from a participating employment network, public or private. Allows State agencies administering or supervising the administration of the State plan under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to elect to participate as an employment network. Sets forth requirements applicable to agreements between State agencies and employment networks. Describes employment network payment systems. (Sec. 101) Provides that during any period for which an individual is using a TWSSP ticket, the Commissioner and any applicable State agency may not initiate a continuing disability or similar review to determine whether the individual is or is not disabled. Requires payments to employment networks: (1) out of the social security trust funds in the case of SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) disability beneficiaries who return to work; or (2) from the appropriation for making Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments under SSA title XVI, in the case of SSI disability beneficiaries who return to work. Establishes within the Social Security Administration the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel to advise the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner with respect to TWSSP work incentive issues, and those issues under OASDI, SSI, Medicare (SSA title XVIII), and Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Elimination of Work Disincentives - Amends SSA titles II and XVI (Procedural and General Provisions) to prescribe specified measures designed to eliminate work disincentives. Prohibits review of an individual's disability status on the basis of work activity. Provides for expedited reinstatement of entitlement to OASDI or of eligibility for SSI disability benefits. Subtitle C: Work Incentives Planning, Assistance, and Outreach - Amends SSA title XI part A to direct the Commissioner to establish a community-based work incentives outreach program for disabled beneficiaries that includes technical assistance to organizations and entities designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work. (Sec. 121) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Commissioner to make certain minimum payments in each State to the protection and advocacy system established under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act for the purpose of providing services to disabled beneficiaries, which may include advocacy or other services that such a beneficiary may need to secure or regain gainful employment. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Expanded Availability of Health Care Services - Amends SSA title XIX to provide for expanding State Medicaid options for workers with disabilities, including options to: (1) eliminate income, assets, and resource limitations for workers with disabilities who buy into Medicaid; and (2) provide opportunity for employed individuals with a medically improved disability to make such a buy. Provides that Federal funds paid to a State for Medicaid payments may not generally be used to supplant the level of State funds expended for a fiscal year for programs to enable working disabled individuals to work. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title II to extend the period of Medicare coverage for OASDI disability insurance beneficiaries. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on specified consequences of such extension. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States to support establishment of State infrastructures to support working disabled individuals as well as to enable State outreach campaigns on infrastructure existence; and (2) submit a recommendation to specified congressional committees on whether such grant program should be continued after FY 2010. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Authorizes State demonstration projects for certain Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of workers with a potentially severe disability, coverage equal to that afforded under the State option for eliminating income, assets, and resource limitations for disabled workers buying into Medicaid. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Allows disabled Medicare beneficiaries to request the suspension of Medicare supplemental policy (Medigap) insurance when covered under a group health plan. Title III: Demonstration Projects and Studies - Amends SSA title II to provide for an extension of disability insurance program demonstration project authority. Directs the Commissioner to develop and carry out experiments and demonstration projects, subject to specified guidelines which include the authority to waive compliance with benefits requirements, with regard to various alternative methods of treating the work activity of individuals entitled to OASDI disability benefits, altering other limitations and conditions applicable to such individuals, and implementing sliding scale benefit offsets. Authorizes the Commissioner to: (1) expand the scope of any such experiment or demonstration project to include any group of OASDI benefit applicants with impairments that reasonably may be presumed to be disabling for purposes of such demonstration project; and (2) limit any such demonstration project to any such group of applicants, subject to the terms of such demonstration project which shall define the extent of any such presumption. (Sec. 302) Directs the Commissioner to conduct certain demonstration projects designed to provide for specified reductions in disability insurance benefits based on earnings. Requires expenditures for such demonstration projects to come out of the social security and Medicare trust funds, as determined appropriate, to the extent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. (Sec. 303) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) existing tax credits and other disability-related employment incentives; (2) coordination of the OASDI disability insurance (DI) program and the SSI program as they relate to individuals entering or leaving concurrent entitlement under them; and (3) the impact of the substantial gainful activity limit on return to work. Directs the Commissioner to report to the Congress on disregards under the DI and SSI programs. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the Social Security Administration's efforts to conduct disability demonstrations. Title IV: Miscellaneous and Technical Amendments - Amends the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 with respect to: (1) final adjudication of denied claims by drug addicts and alcoholics for SSA title II disability benefits; and (2) the effective dates of certain requirements concerning representative payees and treatment referrals for such individuals. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title II to provide for: (1) payments to State and local prisons for monthly reports on the identities of inmates whose OASDI benefits are determined by the Commissioner not to be payable as a result of such reports; (2) a 50 percent reduction in such payments under SSA titles II and XVI in cases involving a comparable payment under the other title with respect to the same prisoner; (3) transfer from the social security trust funds of any sums necessary to enable the Commissioner to make such payments; (4) provision of inmate identification information to any agency administering a Federal or federally-assisted cash, food, or medical assistance program for eligibility purposes under such program; (5) elimination of the requirement that confinement stem only from a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (thus denying OASDI benefits to individuals confined for any criminal offense); and (5) continued denial of benefits to sex offenders remaining confined to public institutions upon completion of prison term. (Sec. 403) Provides for a two-year open season for members of the clergy who wish to revoke their exemption from social security coverage. (Sec. 404) Amends SSA title XI to make a miscellaneous technical amendment relating to cooperative research or development projects under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 405) Amends SSA title XI to make miscellaneous technical amendments to provisions concerning the requirements of State income and eligibility verification systems, among other changes allowing a State to permit certain employers that make returns with respect to domestic service employment taxes on a calendar year basis to instead make such reports on an annual basis. (Sec. 406) Amends SSA title II to direct the Commissioner to impose on attorneys who are owed a fee from a claimant's past-due benefits an assessment, determined according to a specified formula, for crediting to the OASDI trust funds. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 407) Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) grant State Medicaid fraud control units the authority to investigate and prosecute violations of all applicable State laws regarding any and all aspects of suspected fraud in connection with any Federal health care program if the Inspector General of the relevant Federal agency approves the unit's involvement; (2) grant an Inspector General who approves such involvement continuing authority to join the case or investigation or to replace the unit as the primary agency assigned to the matter; (3) include within the unit's authority to recoup overpayments made under the State Medicaid plan to health care facilities authority to recoup overpayments made under any Federal health care program; and (4) revise procedures for unit complaint review, among other changes allowing the unit the option of having procedures for reviewing complaints of abuse or neglect of residents in non-Medicaid board and care facilities. (Sec. 408) Amends SSA title XIX with respect to certain Medicaid payments to States with approved Medicaid plans. Requires a specified payment system approved by the Secretary for the payment of any covered expenditure by, or on behalf of, a local educational agency or school district: (1) in the case of a bundled group of individual items, services, and administrative expenses, in accordance with an actuarially sound payment methodology; or (2) in the case of payment using a fee-for-service methodology, in accordance with reasonable cost reimbursement requirements. Includes among such requirements a competitive bidding process for claims processing contracts and coordination between the local educational agency or school district and Medicaid managed care organization in order for the State to receive Medicaid reimbursement. Formulates the allowable share of the Federal financial participation amount with respect to payment for items and services furnished in a school setting. Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to develop and implement a uniform methodology for claims for payment of Medicaid and related administrative expenses furnished by schools.
Bill· SS. 1717 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1999
Mothers and Newborns Health Insurance Act of 1999 - Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States, subject to specified guidelines, the authority to provide for: (1) optional coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women under the State's CHIP plan; and (2) automatic eligibility and enrollment for child health assistance under the State's CHIP plan for children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance when the child is born until the child attains one year of age. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the transitional increased Federal matching rate for increased administrative costs related to Medicaid-eligibility determinations of individuals receiving aid or assistance under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Removes Medicaid- eligibility determinations with regard to TANF recipients from such provisions. Repeals the termination of authorization for the increased Federal matching rate. Includes as administrative expenditures those attributable to the administrative costs of CHIP-eligibility determinations with regard to children and pregnant women and outreach to such populations likely to be eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure under which, if a State does not obligate available amounts, local and community-based organizations in CHIP and Medicaid, with State approval, may seek to have administrative costs relating to outreach and enrollment of children and pregnant women treated as State administrative costs.
Law· HRH.R. 3048 (106th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Presidential Threat Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Federal criminal code to expand the scope of provisions regarding threats to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon former Presidents and certain other persons protected by the United States Secret Service to include: (1) a member of the immediate family of a major candidate for President or Vice President; and (2) certain distinguished foreign visitors to the United States and official U.S. representatives performing special missions abroad when the President directs that such protection be provided. Increases the term of imprisonment for such an offense. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the Secret Service, at the direction of: (1) the President, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, to participate in the planning, coordination, and implementation of security operations at events or gatherings of national significance; and (2) the Secretary, to establish the National Threat Assessment Center as a unit within the Service. Sets forth provisions regarding functions of the Center and reporting requirements. (Sec. 5) Rewrites provisions regarding administrative subpoenas in Federal health care investigations to provide that, in any investigation of a Federal health care offense or a Federal offense involving the sexual exploitation or abuse of children, the Attorney General (or in the case of an offense involving threats against the President and successors to the Presidency, or against former Presidents and certain other persons protected by the Secret Service, the Secretary) may issue in writing and cause to be served a subpoena requiring the production of any records or other things relevant to the investigation and testimony by the custodian of the things required to be produced concerning the production and authenticity of those things. Specifies that the production of records relating to a Federal health care offense shall not be required at any place more than 500 miles from the place where the subpoena for the production of such records is served, and that the production of things in any other case may be required from any place within the United States or subject to the laws or jurisdiction of the United States. Allows the person or entity summoned, at any time before the return date specified in the summons, to petition in U.S. district court for the district in which that person or entity does business or resides for an order modifying or setting aside the summons, or a prohibition of disclosure ordered by a court. Authorizes a U.S. district court for the district in which the summons is or will be served, upon application of the United States, to issue an ex parte order that no person or entity disclose to any other person or entity (other than to an attorney for the purposes of an application modifying or setting aside the order) the existence of such summons for a 90-day period. Specifies that such order may be issued upon a showing that the things being sought may be relevant to the investigation and there is reason to believe that such disclosure may result in: (1) endangerment to the life or physical safety of any person; (2) flight from prosecution; (3) destruction of or tampering with evidence; (4) intimidation of potential witnesses; or (5) defeating any remedy or penalty provided for the violation of the laws of the United States. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) renewal for additional 90-day periods; and (2) penalties for violations. Prohibits such a summons from requiring the production of anything that would be protected from production under standards applicable to a subpoena duces tecum issued by a U.S. court. Directs the agency to which those records or things were delivered, if no case or proceeding arises from their production within a reasonable time, to return them (upon written demand) to that person, except where the production required only copies. (Sec. 6) Rewrites provisions regarding forfeiture of counterfeit paraphernalia to provide that all seizures and civil forfeitures pursuant to such provisions shall be governed by the procedures set forth under the code pertaining to civil forfeitures. Grants the Attorney General sole responsibility for disposing of petitions for remission or mitigation with respect to property involved in a judicial forfeiture proceeding. Requires a court, in sentencing a person for specified code violations, to order the person to forfeit property, with such property (including any seizure and disposition of the property and any related judicial or administrative proceeding) governed by provisions of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. Specifies that anyone failing or refusing to surrender possession of counterfeit material to an authorized Treasury Department agent or other officer shall be imprisoned not more than one year (current law) or fined (currently, limited to $100).
Bill· HRH.R. 3045 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Senior Citizen Protection Act of 1999 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend the authority of State Medicaid fraud control units to investigate and prosecute: (1) fraud in other Federal health care programs; and (2) resident abuse in non-Medicaid board and care facilities. Includes other Federal health care programs within provisions on the recoupment of overpayment.
Bill· HRH.R. 3041 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Home Health Availability Act of 1999 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project under which a participating organization may purchase home health services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act from a caregiver through a home-care referral agency.
Bill· HRH.R. 3037 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (9) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (10) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (11) low income home energy assistance; (12) refugee and entrant assistance; (13) the social services block grant; (14) children and families services programs; (15) family preservation and support pursuant to a specified provision of the Social Security Act; (16) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (17) the Administration on Aging; (18) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (19) the Office of Inspector General; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; (21) policy research; (22) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; and (23) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations. Rescinds FY 2000 funds for a sample study of child welfare. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 208) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public Health Service Act unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 210) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. (Sec. 211) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require State allotments under block grants for: (1) community health services for FY 2000 to be at least the amount the State received for FY 1998; and (2) substance abuse prevention and treatment for FY 2000 to be equal to allotments for FY 1999. Title III: Department of Education - Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) reading excellence; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial assistance; (13) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (14) higher education; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and improvement; (19) departmental management; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; and (21) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 306) Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce to 35 percent the Federal share available for Even Start family literacy programs in any year after the eighth year of receiving assistance. Removes a provision which limits the receipt of such assistance to a period of eight years. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Education Goals Panel; (11) National Labor Relations Board; (12) National Mediation Board; (13) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (14) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (15) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (16) U.S. Institute of Peace. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 514) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard. Title VI: Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Interventions For Newborns and Infants With Hearing Loss - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the National Institutes of Health to continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families, qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Child Protection Act of 1999 - Child Protection Act of 1999 - Requires any elementary or secondary school or public library that has received Federal funds for the acquisition or operation of any computer that is accessible to minors and that has access to the Internet to: (1) install software on that computer adequately designed to prevent minors from obtaining access to any obscene information or child pornography; and (2) ensure that such software is operational whenever that computer is used by minors. Allows temporary interruption of software operation to permit a minor, under the direct supervision of an adult designated by the school or library, to have access to information that is not obscene, is not child pornography, or is otherwise unprotected by the Constitution. Requires determinations of adequate design to be made by an agency or official designated by the chief executive officer of the State. Authorizes Federal agency heads to respond to violations of this Act by seeking remedies, in the same manner as under the General Education Provisions Act, including withholding of further payments, issuing a complaint to compel compliance through a cease and desist order, or entering into a compliance agreement with the recipient of funds. Prohibits seeking recovery of funds from the recipient. Title VIII: Inflation Adjustments to Mandatory Jurisdiction Thresholds of National Labor Relations Board - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide for inflation adjustments to the mandatory jurisdiction thresholds of the National Labor Relations Board. Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require earned income credit refunds to be paid in 12 substantially equal installments. Makes such requirement inapplicable to refunds under $600. Terminates provisions regarding advanced payment of earned income credit after September 30, 1999. Makes such termination inapplicable to earned income eligibility certificates in effect on such date and to renewals of such certificates which are so in effect. Applies the preceding amendments to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1998. (Sec. 902) Directs the General Accounting Office to conduct a study of the impact on earned income tax credit recipients with respect to a disbursement over 12 months versus the current one-time, lump-sum payment. Title X: Disaster Relief for Farmers - Makes a specified amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds available to the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance to producers for crop and livestock losses incurred as a result of the hurricanes and flooding that struck the eastern United States in August and September 1999.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 325 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 1999
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to continue to increase diabetes research funding, endeavor to raise awareness of the importance of the early detection and proper treatment, and consider ways to improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for diagnosing and treating diabetes; (2) all Americans should take an active role in fighting diabetes by using all the means available; and (3) national and community organizations and health care providers should endeavor to promote awareness of diabetes and its complications, and encourage early detection.
Bill· HRH.R. 3029 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
AIDS Skilled Nursing Care Assistance Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a payment rule for qualified acute skilled nursing facilities for the furnishing of covered skilled nursing facility services to patients at least 35 percent of whom have a primary diagnosis of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Bill· HRH.R. 3034 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1999
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) annual carryover of up to $3000 of unused benefits under cafeteria plans or flexible spending or similar arrangements; and (2) in lieu of a carryover, such amount to be rolled over as nontaxable income when transferred to certain retirement plans, a medical savings account, an education individual retirement account, or health care reimbursement rollover account. Authorizes an annual cost-of-living adjustment to the $3000 limit. Exempts a health care reimbursement rollover account from Federal income tax unless such account ceases to be that type of account. Subjects such account to taxation on unrelated business income. Outlines account qualification requirements. Considers as nontaxable income any amounts paid out of such accounts when used exclusively for qualified medical expenses, while considering as taxable any amounts used otherwise. Excludes account funds from estate taxes. Considers the transfer of such an account to a designated beneficiary as if the beneficiary were the original account holder. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require from an account trustee appropriate reports concerning account contributions, distributions, and related matters.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 323 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1999
Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of H.R. 2990 (quality care for the uninsured). Sets forth the rule (modified closed) for the consideration of H.R. 2723 (consumer protection in managed care plans and other health coverage). Directs the Clerk of the House, in the engrossment of H.R. 2990, to await the disposition of H.R. 2723, add its text at the end of H.R. 2990, and make appropriate conforming changes.
Bill· HRH.R. 3010 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Restraint Safety Act of 1999 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) and of title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to specify Medicare and Medicaid program beneficiaries' rights to freedom from restraint and other abuse while in a psychiatric hospital or other care facility or treatment center. Requires a service provider to report sentinel events (when a program beneficiary under psychiatric care dies unexpectedly or suffers serious injury unrelated to his or her illness or underlying condition) to the appropriate agencies or entities with oversight authority. Allows the imposition of restraints only for the following: (1) to ensure the physical safety of the individual or others in the provider's care or custody; and (2) upon the written order of a physician specifying the duration and circumstances of restraint use (except in emergency circumstances specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services until such an order could reasonably be obtained). Requires the service provider to investigate the sentinel event reported and the appropriate agencies or entities to review and approve the provider's root cause analysis before reporting on the matter to the Secretary for use in the Sentinel Events Database. Directs the Secretary to establish such Database for use on the Internet, with appropriate privacy safeguards for individuals whose treatment is the subject of a report under this Act. Requires additional reporting in certain cases, including to the following: (1) the Secretary about a provider identified as having a pattern of poor performance; and (2) the State Attorney General or the appropriate State law enforcement agency in sentinel events involving death. Mandates sanctions for failure to report. Bars disclosure or discovery of a root cause analysis in a civil action.
Bill· HRH.R. 3003 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the treatment of certified diabetes educators recognized by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators as certified providers for purposes of outpatient diabetes education services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 3004 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 1999
Medicare Return To Home Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit a Medicare+Choice (Medicare part C) beneficiary to elect to receive covered home skilled nursing facility (SNF) services at specified SNFs that meet certain conditions if the Medicare+Choice plan covers post-hospital extended care services.
Bill· SS. 1679 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Breast Reconstruction Implementation Act of 1999 - Amends the group health plan requirements of the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits with respect to a mastectomy to ensure that, in a case in which a mastectomy patient elects breast reconstruction, coverage is provided for: (1) all stages of reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy has been performed; and (2) surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance in the manner determined by the attending physician and the patient to be appropriate.
Bill· SS. 1678 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Care Act of 1999 - Title I: Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) multiyear transition to prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services and a special rule for rural and cancer hospitals; (2) limitation in reduction of payments to disproportionate share (DSH) hospitals; (3) revision of criteria for designation as a critical access hospital; and (4) sole community and Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals and the applicable percentage increase for FY 2000 and each subsequent fiscal year. (Sec. 103) Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to increase DSH hospital allotments for Minnesota, New Mexico, and Wyoming. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97) to make the Medicaid DSH transition rule permanent. Title II: Graduate Medical Education - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to revision of multiyear reduction of indirect graduate medical education (GME) payments. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA title XVIII parts D (Miscellaneous) and C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to acceleration of payment to hospitals of indirect and direct GME costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title XVIII part C with respect to the exclusion of nursing and allied health education costs in calculating the Medicare+Choice payment rate. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to: (1) payment to hospitals of nursing and allied health education program costs for Medicare+Choice enrollees; and (2) adjustments to limitations on the number of interns and residents and GME payments for certain interns and residents. Title III: Hospice Care - Amends SSA title XVIII to increase payments for routine home care and other services included in hospice care for a fiscal year after FY 1999. Title IV: Skilled Nursing Facilities - Provides that, for purposes of applying any formula under the PPS for covered skilled nursing facility services (SNFs) for services provided between April 1, 2000, and the end of FY 2001, the Secretary shall increase, by a specified applicable payment add-on, the adjusted Federal per diem rate otherwise determined for services provided to any individual during the period in which such individual is in a RUG III case mix category. (Sec. 402) Amends SSA title XVIII to exclude clinical social worker services and services performed under a contract with a rural health clinic or a Federally-qualified health center from the PPS for SNFs, as well as certain ambulance services, chemotherapy administration services, and other specified items, services, and devices, including swing beds in critical access hospitals. Title V: Outpatient Rehabilitation Services - Amends title XVIII to repeal for three years a specified financial limitation on outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient occupational therapy services, and outpatient speech-language pathology services covered under Medicare and furnished on or after January 1, 2000. Directs the Secretary to implement by January 1, 2003, a payment system for such services that takes into account the needs of Medicare beneficiaries for differing amounts of therapy based on certain factors. Title VI: Physicians' Services - Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to payment for physicians' services to revise the formula for determining the update adjustment factor and the formula for determining the sustainable growth rate for all physicians' services. (Sec. 602) Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register an estimate of the single conversion factor to be used in the next calendar year for reimbursement of physicians' services, and data on which such estimate is based. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPac) to review annually and report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on such estimates and data. Title VII: Home Health - Amends BBA '97 and SSA title XVIII to delay application of the 15 percent reduction in payment rates for home health services until one year after implementation of the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 702) Amends SSA title XVIII to increase the FY 2000 per visit limit for home health agencies furnishing home health services, but in such a way that has no effect on the PPS for home health services. (Sec. 703) Requires the Secretary to pay such excess reasonable cost to a home health services provider that furnishes services appropriate to an individual's condition at a reasonable cost which significantly exceeds the applicable per beneficiary limit because of unusual variations in the type or amount of medically necessary care required. (Sec. 704) Eliminates the 15-minute billing requirement for the payment of claims for home health services furnished on or after October 1, 1998. (Sec. 705) Provides that, in the case of an overpayment by the Secretary to a home health agency for services furnished during a cost reporting period beginning on or after October 1, 1997, as a result of certain payment limitations, the home health agency may elect to repay the amount of such overpayment ratably over a 36-month period beginning on the overpayment notification date. (Sec. 706) Amends SSA title XVIII to include medical supplies (but not durable medical equipment) as home health services for purposes of home health consolidated billing. Title VIII: Medicare+Choice - Amends Medicare part C to delay the submission of proposed premiums, adjusted community rates, and related information each Medicare+Choice organization is required to submit to the Secretary for each Medicare+Choice plan for the service area in which it is intended to be offered in the following year. (Sec. 802) Reduces from five years to three years the general exclusion period for Medicare+Choice organizations whose contract has been terminated. (Sec. 803) Authorizes enrollment in alternative Medicare+Choice plans and Medigap coverage in the event of an involuntary termination of Medicare+Choice enrollment. Guarantees access for certain Medicare beneficiaries to Medigap policies in case of such an involuntary termination. (Sec. 804) Removes certain age-related restrictions with respect to Medigap protection against medical condition or pre-existing condition discrimination. Permits an individual who develops end-stage renal disease while enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan and remains so enrolled to elect to continue enrollment in another Medicare+Choice plan if the original enrollment is discontinued. (Sec. 805) Extends the Medicare+Choice disenrollment window for certain involuntarily terminated enrollees. (Sec. 806) Provides under the Medicare+Choice program for continuation of any State law that requires the comprehensive coverage of prescription drugs, or any regulation that carries out such a law if: (1) the State has a waiver in effect with respect to requiring such coverage under Medigap policies; or (2) the Secretary provides for a waiver for the State to impose such a requirement. (Sec. 807) Exempts certain frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries from the risk-adjustment system if they are enrolled in a specialized program for the frail elderly. Sets forth special rules for frail elderly Medicare+Choice beneficiaries enrolled in such specialized programs. Provides for continuous open enrollment for certain such beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a program to measure the quality of care provided in specialized programs for the frail elderly in order to reflect their unique health aspects and needs. (Sec. 808) Extends for an additional three years Medicare community nursing and ambulatory care demonstration projects under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987. Title IX: Clinics - Amends SSA title XIX to establish a new PPS for Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics under which the State Medicaid plan may provide for payment in any fiscal year to such a center or clinic for certain services in an amount exceeding the amount otherwise required to be paid under the PPS.
Bill· HRH.R. 3000 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1999
Josephine Butler United States Health Service Act - Title I: Establishment and Operation of the United States Health Service - Subtitle A: Initial Organization - Establishes the United States Health Service (Service) as an independent executive branch entity. Vests the appropriate National Health Board of the Service (National Board) with the authority through which the authority of the Service shall be exercised. Provides that the authority of the Service shall also be exercised by area health boards in accordance with this Act and National Board guidelines. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Organization of Area Health Boards - Sets forth procedures regarding election and appointment of interim national, interim regional, and initial and subsequent National, regional, district, and community health boards. Provides for the appropriate Boards to establish health care delivery regions, districts, and communities. Subtitle C: General Provisions Regarding Health Boards - Sets forth the membership and terms of office of health boards and certain public accountability and financial disclosure requirements with regard to serving on such boards. Establishes an Office of the Inspector General for the Service. Title II: Delivery of Health Care and Supplemental Services - Subtitle A: Patients' Rights in Health Care Delivery - Affords every user the right to receive high quality care and supplemental services from any facility within the Service capable of providing such services without charge and without discrimination. Sets forth a list of other basic health rights. (Sec. 202) Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to entitle certain employees to health leave compensation. Subtitle B: Eligibility for, Nature of, and Scope of Services Provided by the Service - Declares all individuals in the United States eligible to receive health care and supplemental services under this Act. Requires the Service to provide specified services. Provides for Service reimbursement of emergency health services costs. Subtitle C: Health Care Facilities and Delivery of Health Care Services - Requires each community board to maintain health care facilities as necessary for the delivery of primary, specialized, and community-oriented services. (Sec. 221) Requires each district board, where appropriate, to maintain a general hospital and other health care facilities and to provide specialized health care services. Requires each regional board to maintain the following: (1) a regional medical facility for highly specialized care; and (2) services that cannot be provided by community or district boards. Requires each area health board to hire health workers, purchase or lease necessary premises, minimize care delivery fragmentation and duplication, assist community and district boards in operating services, and ensure that all required health services under this title are available and accessible. Requires the National Board to authorize the National Institute of Evaluative Clinical Research to establish evidence-based clinical decision criteria that, where feasible, shall apply nationwide. (Sec. 222) Requires each health board to establish policies and organizational plans for the operation of a facility. Authorizes a health board that has established more than one health care facility to provide for a health care facility board or boards to manage any facility the health board cannot effectively manage. Prohibits a health board from permitting its facilities to be used for private service delivery. Prohibits health board employees from engaging in private service delivery. Requires regular facilities inspections. (Sec. 223) Requires area health boards to provide specified services, including abortion services counseling. Requires an individual to give written voluntary consent before any treatment or procedure which could affect the individual's capacity to reproduce children. Title III: Health Labor Force - Subtitle A: Job Categories and Certification - Declares that, notwithstanding State laws to the contrary, the Service shall be the sole judge of the qualifications of its employees. (Sec. 303) Requires the National Board to establish guidelines for the classification, certification, and employment of health workers. Requires that the guidelines permit alternative approaches to healing. Requires that each regional board establish advanced specialty training certification standards. Prohibits individual health facility administrators from downgrading the level of skill, license, or certification required to perform the duties delineated by the National Board. Directs the National Board to convene a national level task force to review the impact on the safety and health of patients and workers of downgrading and deskilling of health care job categories by replacing licensed with unlicensed workers during the 1990's, particularly in the nursing area, and to recommend remedies as appropriate. Prohibits health care workers who report compromises in the quality of care from being subjected to recriminations. Subtitle B: Education of Health Workers - Requires each regional board to establish a health team school to provide initial and continuing basic care delivery education and initial and continuing advanced specialty education. Requires that the schools be funded exclusively by the Service, prohibits them from charging or accepting tuition or fees, and requires them to provide each student with an allowance for living expenses, educational supplies, and any child care. (Sec. 312) Requires that enrollees agree to perform health care services as Service employees. (Sec. 313) Requires the National Board to make educational loan payments. Subtitle C: Employment and Labor-Management Relations Within the Service - Requires the National Board to ensure that all individuals employed as health workers before enactment of this Act and desiring employment in the Service find appropriate employment in the Service. (Sec. 321) Imposes certain remuneration-related restrictions on health workers and Service employees. (Sec. 323) Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to include the Service in the term "employer." (Sec. 324) Makes the remedies provided by stated Federal laws regarding jurisdiction and tort claims exclusive of any other civil action or proceeding. Title IV: Other Functions of Health Boards - Subtitle A: Advocacy, Grievance Procedures, and Trusteeships - Requires each area health board to establish a health advocacy program. (Sec. 401) Requires the National Board to establish a health rights legal services program for users and health workers. Subtitle B: Occupational Safety and Health Programs - Requires the National Board to oversee regional occupational safety and health programs and to participate in the establishment and administration of standards under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA). (Sec. 411) Amends OSHA to substitute references to the National Board for references to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Sec. 412) Requires each: (1) community board to provide for the operation of a community occupational safety and health action council; (2) regional board to establish a regional occupational health and safety program; and (3) Community Health Board to establish employer maintained worksite facilities to meet occupational and emergency health care needs of employees, with the cost borne by the employer. (Sec. 415) Grants employees in workplaces having 25 or more employees the right to establish workplace occupational safety and health committees. Authorizes such employees to monitor conditions and to remove themselves from the site of any hazard without loss of pay or other job rights. Subtitle C: Health and Health Care Delivery Research, Quality Assurance, and Health Equity - Requires the Service to conduct a program of health and health care delivery research. (Sec. 422) Transfers the National Institutes of Health from HHS to the National Health Board. Requires the National Board to establish the following five new national institutes of: Epidemiology, Evaluative Clinical Research, Health Care Services, Pharmacy and Medical Supply, and Sociology of Health and Health Care. Subtitle D: Health Planning, Distribution of Drugs and Other Medical Supplies, and Miscellaneous Functions - Requires the following: (1) each area board to collect data on supply and demand regarding health workers and care delivery; (2) publication of a National Pharmacy and Medical Supply Formulary; and (3) each regional board to establish a program for the purchase and distribution of drugs and other medical supplies. Authorizes the National Board to operate drug and medical supply manufacturing facilities. Title V: Financing of the Service - Subtitle A: Health Service Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to impose on individuals and on corporations additional taxes of specified percentages of the total taxes otherwise imposed on individuals and on corporations under IRC. (Sec. 502) Ends the exclusion from gross income of amounts paid by third parties for medical care. Excludes from gross income employer contributions to accident or health plans to the extent that such contributions do not provide for health care available to such employees under this Act. Prohibits income tax deductions for: (1) health care expenses as a trade or a business expense; and (2) contributions to certain medical and hospital facilities. Repeals IRC provisions regarding medical and dental expenses, hospital insurance tax imposed on employment and self-employment income, and receipts for railroad employees. (Sec. 503) Declares that no contractual or other nonstatutory obligation of any employer to pay or provide for health care for present or former employees and their dependents and survivors shall apply on or after the effective date of health services under this Act to the extent such individuals are eligible to receive such services under this Act. (Sec. 504) Prohibits Federal, State, or private workers' compensation programs from paying for or providing any health care on or after the effective date of health services under this Act to the extent such care is available under this Act. Subtitle B: Health Service Trust Fund - Creates in the Treasury the Health Service Trust Fund (Fund). (Sec. 511) Appropriates to the Fund: (1) amounts equal to 100 percent of the expected net receipts from taxes imposed by subtitle A as well as Federal Hospital Insurance employment taxes; and (2) a Government contribution equal to 40 percent of the amount so appropriated. (Sec. 512) Transfers to the Fund all assets and liabilities of the Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA))trust funds. Subtitle C: Preparation of Plans and Budgets - Requires the National Board to annually fix the maximum amount of funds which may be expended from the Fund during the fiscal year. Subtitle D: Allocation and Distribution of Funds - Requires the National Board to transmit annually a national budget to regional boards. Declares the budget adopted on approval by a majority of the regional boards. (Sec. 532) Sets forth similar requirements for preparation and adoption of regional and district budgets. (Sec. 534) Requires each National Board budget to incorporate a fund for special operating expenses. (Sec. 535) Requires funds allocated under the national health budget to be distributed by the National Board from the Fund. Prohibits health boards from requesting or receiving funds from any other source. Subtitle E: General Provisions - Authorizes the National Board to borrow money, issue and sell obligations, and pledge Fund assets. Empowers the National Board to require the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase the Service's obligations, to a specified maximum. (Sec. 541) Makes obligations issued by the Service obligations of the Government under certain circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purchase of Service obligations, to use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals, on the effective date of health services under this Act, the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), except for specified provisions regarding: (1) its short title and definitions; (2) licensing, quarantine, and inspections authority; and (3) safety of public water systems. Delays, until four years after the effective date of health services, repeal of portions of PHSA regarding provision of assistance to educational institutions and their students in areas that have not established health team schools. (Sec. 602) Repeals SSA provisions relating to maternal and child health (title V of SSA), Medicare, Medicaid (title XIX of SSA), professional standards review (part B of title XI of SSA), plus additional various specified SSA provisions relating to entitlement to hospital insurance benefits, uniform health reporting systems, limitation on Federal participation for capital expenditures, the program for determining qualification for certain health care personnel, disclosure of ownership and related information, disclosure of certain convictions, and payments to States for health care and supplemental services. Repeals the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), specified provisions on medical benefits and on programs relating to veterans, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Repeals the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970; the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974; and specified provisions of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 relating to medical treatment of narcotic addiction. Repeals specified Federal law regarding hospitals, community hospitals, and other health facilities for Indians. Repeals the District of Columbia Medical Facilities Construction Act of 1968 and the District of Columbia Medical and Dental Manpower Act of 1970. Repeals specified provisions of the National Housing Act regarding mortgage insurance for nursing homes, hospitals, and group practice facilities. Repeals the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963; the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act of 1970; the National Arthritis Act of 1974; and the National Diabetes Mellitus Research and Education Act. Repeals specified provisions of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act regarding grant, demonstration, and research programs for lead-based paint poisoning prevention. Repeals specified OSHA provisions regarding the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Requires the President to prepare and submit to Congress legislation to repeal or amend provisions of laws that are inconsistent with this Act. (Sec. 603) Transfers to the Fund amounts appropriated to carry out the purposes of any law repealed by this Act. (Sec. 604) Amends Federal money and finance law to require the President's annual budget submitted to Congress to account for expenditures from, and appropriations to, the Fund separately from such items with respect to expenditures and appropriations relating to other operations of the Government.
Bill· HRH.R. 2987 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act of 1999 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission (the Commission) to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, importation, exportation, or trafficking in amphetamine (including an attempt or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing) in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA), or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA) to provide for increased penalties comparable to the base offense level for methamphetamine. Directs the Commission to: (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines for such offenses reflect their heinous nature, the need for aggressive law enforcement, and the extreme dangers associated with unlawful activity involving amphetamines; and (2) promulgate amendments pursuant to this Act in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Sentencing Act of 1987, as though the authority of that Act had not expired. (Sec. 3) Amends the CSA to prohibit advertisements for the sale of drug paraphernalia and of schedule I controlled substances. (Sec. 4) Provides for mandatory restitution for CSA and CSIEA violations. Expands provisions regarding restitution for cleanup of clandestine laboratory sites to cover offenses involving, and reimbursement for costs incurred for the cleanup associated with, the manufacture of amphetamine (currently, limited to methamphetamine), and to include reimbursement to States and local governments, as well as to the United States. Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the deposit of sums from a reimbursement order into the Department of Justice (DOJ) Assets Forfeiture Fund. (Sec. 5) Amends the Federal criminal code (the code) to: (1) prohibit and set penalties for teaching or demonstrating the manufacture of a controlled substance, or distributing information pertaining to such manufacture or use, with intent that it be used for or to further activity that constitutes a Federal crime, or knowing that the recipient intends to use it for or to further such activity; and (2) allow the delay of issuance of a warrant to search and seize property that constitutes evidence of a Federal criminal offense pursuant to the standards, terms, and conditions set forth in the code, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute. (Sec. 7) Directs the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to carry out specified programs (advanced mobile clandestine laboratory training teams, basic clandestine laboratory certification training, and clandestine laboratory recertification and awareness training) with respect to the law enforcement personnel of States and localities determined by the Administrator to have significant levels of methamphetamine- or amphetamine-related crime or projected by the Administrator to have the potential for such levels of crime in the future. Limits the duration of any such program to three years. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 8) Requires the Director of National Drug Control Policy to use amounts available under this section to combat the trafficking of methamphetamine and amphetamine in areas designated by the Director as high intensity drug trafficking areas. Requires the Director to provide funds for: (1) employing additional Federal law enforcement personnel, or facilitating the employment of additional State and local law enforcement personnel; and (2) such other activities that the Director considers appropriate. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director to apportion amounts appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to such authorization of appropriations for activities under this section among and within areas designated as high intensity drug trafficking areas based on: (1) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine manufacturing facilities discovered by law enforcement officials in the previous fiscal year; (2) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine prosecutions in the previous fiscal year; (3) the number of methamphetamine and amphetamine arrests in the previous fiscal year; (4) the amounts of methamphetamine, amphetamine, or listed chemicals seized in the previous fiscal year; and (5) intelligence and predictive data from the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services showing patterns and trends in abuse, trafficking, and transportation in methamphetamine, amphetamine, and listed chemicals. Requires the Director, before apportioning any funds under this section to a high intensity drug trafficking area, to certify that the law enforcement entities responsible for clandestine methamphetamine and amphetamine laboratory seizures in that area are providing laboratory seizure data to the national clandestine laboratory database at the El Paso Intelligence Center. Sets limits on administrative costs. (Sec. 9) Authorizes the DEA to: (1) assist State and local law enforcement in small and mid-sized communities in all phases of investigations related to such manufacturing and trafficking; (2) staff additional regional enforcement and mobile enforcement teams related to such manufacturing and trafficking; (3) establish additional resident offices and posts of duty to assist State and local law enforcement in rural areas in combating such manufacturing and trafficking; and (4) provide the Special Operations Division of the DEA with additional agents and staff to collect, evaluate, interpret, and disseminate critical intelligence targeting the command and control operations of major amphetamine and methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking organizations. Authorizes the Administrator to establish in the DEA not more than 50 full-time positions, including not more than 31 special agent positions, and to appoint personnel to such positions. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 10) Amends the Federal judicial code to make sums in the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund available for payment for costs incurred by or on behalf of: (1) DOJ in connection with the removal, for purposes of Federal forfeiture and disposition, of any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant associated with the illegal manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine; and (2) a State or local government in connection with such removal in any case in which such State or local government has assisted in a Federal prosecution relating to amphetamine or methamphetamine, to the extent such costs exceed equitable sharing payments made to such State or local government. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make funds under the drug control and system improvement (Byrne) grant program available to remove any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant associated with the illegal manufacture of amphetamine or methamphetamine. Requires that any sums made available from the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund for purposes of this section in a fiscal year supplement and not supplant any other amounts made available to DOJ from other sources. (Sec. 11) Requires the head of each Federal department, agency, and establishment to place anti-drug messages on appropriate Internet websites controlled by such department, agency, or establishment which messages shall, where appropriate, contain an electronic hyperlink to the Internet website, if any, of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. (Sec. 12) Revises CSA mail order provisions to: (1) require that each regulated person who engages in an export transaction (currently, limited to each regulated person who engages in a transaction with a non-regulated person) submit a monthly report of each such transaction to the Attorney General; and (2) make specified exemptions from such reporting requirement, such as for certain distributions of sample packages of drug products and distributions of drug products pursuant to a valid prescription. Authorizes the Attorney General to revoke any such exemptions if drug products distributed by the regulated person are being used in violation of CSA requirements, subject to specified provisions concerning notification and the right to an expedited hearing. (Sec. 13) Amends the CSA to prohibit and set penalties for the theft of anhydrous ammonia, or the transportation of stolen anhydrous ammonia across State lines, knowing, intending, or having reasonable cause to believe that such ammonia will be used to manufacture a controlled substance in violation of the Act. Requires the DEA Administrator to seek to enter into an agreement with Iowa State University to permit the University to expand its current research into the development of inert agents that, when added to anhydrous ammonia, eliminate its usefulness as an ingredient in methamphetamine production. Authorizes such agreement to provide for the provision to such University of $500,000, on a reimbursable basis, for such activities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 14) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to designated congressional committees annual reports on the problems caused by methamphetamine consumption in rural areas, suburban areas, and small, mid-size, and large cities. (Sec. 15) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to authorize the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to make grants to and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with public and nonprofit private entities to enable such entities to carry out: (1) school-based programs concerning the dangers of abuse of and addiction to methamphetamine and other illicit drugs, using methods that are effective and science-based, including initiatives that give students the responsibility to create their own anti-drug abuse education programs for their schools; and (2) community-based abuse and addiction prevention programs relating to methamphetamine and other illicit drugs that are effective and science-based. Sets forth provisions regarding permissible grant uses, priorities in making grants, program evaluation, and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations for expansion of abuse prevention efforts and for practitioner registration requirements. (Sec. 16) Amends the PHSA to authorize the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements to expand the current and on-going interdisciplinary research and clinical trials with treatment centers of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network relating to methamphetamine abuse and addiction and other biomedical, behavioral, and social issues related to methamphetamine abuse and addiction. Sets forth provisions regarding permissible uses of grant funds and dissemination of research results. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 17) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on the development of medications for the treatment of addiction to amphetamine and methamphetamine. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 18) Amends the CSA to waive registration requirements for practitioners who dispense schedule IV or V narcotic drugs or combinations thereof for maintenance or detoxification treatment if the practitioner submits to the Secretary a notification of intent to begin such dispensation that contains certifications by the practitioner that: (1) the practitioner is a physician licensed under State law, has demonstrable training or experience and the ability to treat and manage opiate-dependent patients, and has the demonstrated capacity to refer the patients for appropriate counseling and ancillary services; and (2) the total number of such patients at any one time will not exceed 20, with exceptions. Sets forth additional conditions, including that the drugs or combinations: (1) have been approved for use in maintenance or detoxification treatment; and (2) have not been the subject of an adverse determination. Requires the Secretary to provide to the Attorney General requested information contained in required notifications as the Attorney General may request. Authorizes the Attorney General to consider a practitioner who violates requirements of this section to have committed an act that renders the registration to be inconsistent with the public interest. Directs that, during the three-year period beginning upon enactment of this Act: (1) the Secretary make determinations regarding the effectiveness, increased availability, and adverse consequences for public health, of treatments provided under the waivers; and (2) the Attorney General make determinations regarding the extent to which there have been violations of numerical limitations established and regarding whether waivers have increased the extent to which narcotic drugs in schedule IV or V or combinations are being dispensed or possessed in violation of this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding publication by the Secretary or Attorney General in the Federal Register of decisions. Prohibits a State from precluding a practitioner from dispensing narcotic drugs in schedule IV or V, or combinations of such drugs, to patients for maintenance or detoxification treatment during the three-year period unless, before the expiration of such period, the State enacts a law prohibiting a practitioner from dispensing such drugs. (Sec. 19) Directs the Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense level, with respect to any offense relating to the manufacture, attempt to manufacture, or conspiracy to manufacture amphetamine or methamphetamine in violation of the CSA, CSIEA, or MDLEA, by specified amounts if the offense created a substantial risk of harm to human life or the environment, or to the life of a minor or incompetent. (Sec. 20) Amends the CSA to include methamphetamine paraphernalia within provisions applicable to "drug paraphernalia."
Bill· HRH.R. 2983 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Substance Abuse Group Homes Amendments of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that grant funding agreements require that State and local officials consult with the public regarding the establishment of a designated substance abuse recovery group home, its governing policies, and the effects of an established home on the community. Requires the officials to monitor the home residents' compliance with the conditions upon which the home was established.
Bill· HRH.R. 2979 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Medicare Hospital Outpatient Payment Equality (HOPE) Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for outpatient hospital services for a special payment adjustment for certain visits, among other changes made to such payment system. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to establish a temporary limitation on reductions in Federal payments for covered outpatient hospital services. Provides for the retroactivity of certain portions of this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2989 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Medicare Teaching Hospital Equity Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to accelerate from 60 percent to 100 percent in 2000 (and subsequent years) Medicare payments to hospitals with respect to the indirect and direct costs of graduate medical education for inpatient hospital services furnished to Medicare+Choice enrollees under SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice).
Bill· HRH.R. 2990 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1999
Quality Care for the Uninsured Act of 1999 - Title I: Tax-Related Health Care Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to phase-in a 100 percent deduction (for both itemizers and nonitemizers) for the health and long-term care insurance costs of individuals not participating in employer-subsidized health plans. (Sec. 102) Provides for the deduction of 100 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 103) Revises medical savings accounts provisions to: (1) repeal the limitation on the number of accounts; (2) make all employers (currently limited to small employers) eligible to offer accounts; (3) increase contribution deduction amounts; (4) permit employer and employee contributions; (5) reduce high deductible health plan deductibles; and (6) permit accounts to be offered under cafeteria plans. (Sec. 104) Permits offering long-term care insurance under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. (Sec. 105) Permits a taxpayer an additional exemption for certain elderly family members who need long-term care and who reside with the taxpayer. (Sec. 106) Expands the time frame for human clinical trials qualifying for the orphan drug credit. (Sec. 107) Adds to the list of taxable vaccines any conjugate vaccine of streptococcus pneumoniae. (Sec. 108) Establishes a limited credit for "qualified medical innovation expenses." Defines such expenses as amounts paid by a taxpayer to any qualified academic institution for clinical testing research activities. Title II: Greater Access and Choice Through Association Health Plans - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) applications and related reporting; (7) notice for voluntary termination; (8) corrective actions and mandatory termination; and (9) church plans. (Sec. 201) Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply, to the appropriate Federal district court, to be appointed trustee of certain insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that begins operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the effect association health plans have had, if any, on reducing the number of uninsured individuals. (Sec. 202) Revises requirements for treatment of single employer arrangements. (Sec. 203) Revises requirements for certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 204) Sets forth enforcement requirements relating to association health plans. (Sec. 205) Sets forth State responsibilities, and requirements for cooperation between Federal and State authorities, with respect to association health plans. (Sec. 206) Prescribes special rules for certain existing health benefits programs. Title III: Greater Access and Choice Through Healthmarts - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a new title on HealthMarts. Requires that HealthMarts: (1) be nonprofit entities composed of employers, employees health care providers, and entities that underwrite or administer health benefits coverage; and (2) make available health coverage to all 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 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. 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 offered coverage options. 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 through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, a medical savings or flexible spending account, a point-of-service option, a community health organization, or any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit any 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. Requires HealthMarts to make at least two coverage options available. 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. Title IV: Community Health Organizations - Permits the waiver of State licensure requirements for certain community health organizations.
Bill· HRH.R. 2976 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 1999
Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to permit children covered under a State CHIP plan to continue to be eligible for benefits under State pediatric vaccine distribution programs (Vaccine for Children program) under Medicaid (SSA title XIX).
Bill· SS. 1655 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Rural Hospital Flexibility Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the criteria for designation as a critical access hospital to: (1) modify the 96-hour restriction on acute care to an average of 96 hours; and (2) repeal the requirement of subjecting requests for waiver of the 96-hour restriction on a case-by-case basis to a peer review organization or equivalent entity.
Bill· SS. 1650 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Labor Title II: Department of Health and Human Services Title III: Department of Education Title IV: Related Agencies Title V: General Provisions Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies. Title I: Department of Labor - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Labor for: (1) training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and other trust funds; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (8) the Employment Standards Administration; (9) certain special benefits; (10) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (11) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (12) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (13) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (14) departmental management; (15) the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training; and (16) the Office of Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title II: Department of Health and Human Services - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration; (2) the Medical Facilities Guarantee and Loan Fund for Federal interest subsidies for medical facilities; (3) health education assistance loans; (4) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (5) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (6) the National Institutes of Health, including amounts for the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, the Office of the Director, and buildings and facilities; (7) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; (8) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers; (9) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (11) the Administration for Children and Families for family support payments to States; (12) low income home energy assistance; (13) refugee and entrant assistance; (14) the child care and development block grant; (15) the social services block grant; (16) children and families services programs; (17) promoting safe and stable families pursuant to a specified provision of the Social Security Act; (18) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (19) the Administration on Aging; (20) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (21) the Office of Inspector General; (22) the Office for Civil Rights; (23) policy research; and (24) activities related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 209) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of the Public Health Service Act unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities. (Sec. 210) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions. (Sec. 211) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require State allotments under block grants for community health services for FY 2000 to be at least the amount the State received for FY 1998. Provides a specified minimum State allotment for FY 2000 under block grants for substance abuse prevention and treatment as well. (Sec. 213) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 to extend through FY 2000 the authorization of admission into the United States of a specified number of refugees from the independent states of the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania based on religious persecution owing to participation in the Ukrainian Catholic or Orthodox churches. Makes September 30, 2000, the latest allowable entry date for specified aliens from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia for purposes of qualifying for adjustment of status. (Sec. 214) Prohibits the use of funds provided in any Act making FY 2000 appropriations for the implementation in Arizona or in Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas, of the Medicare Competitive Pricing Demonstration Project operated by the Secretary of HHS under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Title III: Department of Education - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the Department of Education for: (1) education reform; (2) education for the disadvantaged; (3) impact aid; (4) school improvement activities; (5) reading excellence; (6) Indian education; (7) bilingual and immigrant education; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) student financial assistance; (13) the Federal Family Education Loan program account; (14) higher education; (15) Howard University; (16) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (17) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (18) education research, statistics, and improvement; (19) departmental management; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; and (21) the Office of the Inspector General. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. (Sec. 301) Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to: (1) transport teachers or students in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or to carry out a racial desegregation plan; or (2) prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools. (Sec. 305) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to bar the use of funds provided to the Department of Education or to an applicable program to field or pilot test, implement, administer, or distribute national tests. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the International Math and Science Study or other international assessments developed under the authority of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 that are administered only to a representative sample of U.S. and foreign pupils. Provides that exclusive authority over the direction and all policies for developing voluntary national tests shall continue to be vested in the National Assessment Governing Board. Title IV: Related Agencies - Makes appropriations for FY 2000 to the: (1) Corporation for National and Community Service; (2) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (3) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (4) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (5) Office of Library Services; (6) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (7) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (8) National Council on Disability; (9) National Education Goals Panel; (10) National Labor Relations Board; (11) National Mediation Board; (12) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (13) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (14) Social Security Administration for payments to the social security trust funds, special benefits for disabled coal miners, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (15) U.S. Institute of Peace. Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title. Title V: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act. (Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs unless the Secretary of HHS determines that such programs are effective in preventing the spread of HIV and do not encourage the use of illegal drugs. (Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 508) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being expended for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or where a woman suffers from a physical condition that would, as certified by a physician, place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. (Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. (Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage. (Sec. 513) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard. (Sec. 514) Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 to extend the availability of certain voluntary separation incentives for employees of the Railroad Retirement Board and its Office of Inspector General.
Bill· SS. 1656 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to permit children covered under a State CHIP plan to continue to be eligible for benefits under State pediatric vaccine distribution programs (Vaccine for Children program) under Medicaid (SSA title XIX).
Bill· SS. 1646 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Improved Maternal and Children's Health Coverage Act- Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate: (1) development and use of a uniform, simplified application form for establishing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP benefits; and (2) coordinated enrollment processes. (Sec. 2) Provides for the expanded availability of funding for administrative costs related to certain outreach and eligibility determinations under Medicaid and CHIP with regard to children and pregnant women. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure with regard to the participation of local and community-based public or nonprofit organizations in outreach and enrollment activities if States do not otherwise obligate the amounts made available under this Act. Sets forth a special rule for certain enrollment and outreach activities providing for use of three percent of CHIP funds at 90 percent Federal match for such activities. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for additional entities (including elementary and secondary schools, child support enforcement agencies, and child care resource and referral agencies) that are qualified to determine Medicaid presumptive eligibility for low-income children. (Sec. 3) Amends SSA title XXI to require, to the extent a State child health plan provides coverage other than through providing benefits under the State's Medicaid plan, a State child health plan to: (1) specify methods to ensure coordination of pediatric care within a family; (2) make the State and its contractors, and not beneficiaries and families, responsible for applying limitations on cost-sharing; (3) impose, at its option, a flat limit (of up to $500) on out-of-pocket expenditures for certain low-income children (as an alternative to the current five percent of family income); and (4) provide a grace period and prior notice before disenrollment for nonpayment of premiums, if the State child health plan requires the payment of a premium and such premium is not paid on a timely notice, as well as an opportunity for a hearing on the matter. Prohibits State child health plan eligibility standards from permitting the use of mandatory waiting periods, unless the Secretary finds that such a period would not be contrary to title XXI. (Sec. 4) Amends SSA title XIX to provide, among other changes, for: (1) automatic reassessment of eligibility for CHIP and Medicaid benefits for children losing Medicaid or CHIP eligibility; (2) optional CHIP coverage of low-income, uninsured pregnant women; ; (3) elimination of the funding offset for exercise of the presumptive eligibility option; (4) automatic enrollment of children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving pregnancy-related assistance under such programs; and (5) CHIP and Medicaid program coordination with the Maternal and Child Health Services program under SSA title V.
Bill· HRH.R. 2967 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase from ten to 20 percent the additional incentive payments for physician services provided in health professional shortage areas in Alaska and Hawaii.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 311 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Sets forth the rule (modified open) for the consideration of H.R. 1136 (quality health care choice).
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 310 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1999
Sets forth the rule (modified closed) for the consideration of H.R. 358 (consumer protection in managed care plans and other health coverage).
Bill· HRH.R. 2956 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1999
Children's Protection and Community Cleanup Act of 1999 - Title I: Remedy - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to revise general rules for the selection of remedial cleanup actions. Removes a provision requiring the President to specifically address the long-term effectiveness of various alternative treatment or resource recovery technologies. Requires remedial actions to: (1) make contaminated property available for beneficial use to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) protect uncontaminated groundwater and surface water, wherever technically feasible, and restore such water to beneficial uses in a reasonable time period given the circumstances of the release of the hazardous substance concerned. Lists minimum factors to be taken into account by the President in assessing alternative remedial actions and selecting remedial actions. Requires selected remedial actions, unless the President determines that a risk-based standard for a contaminant is based on data and assumptions adequate to assure protection of children's health, to reduce contamination to background levels (where more stringent) with respect to such contaminant, to the maximum extent technically feasible. Prohibits the selection of an action that allows hazardous substances to remain on site above levels that would be protective for unrestricted use unless institutional controls are incorporated into the action to achieve protection of human health and the environment during and after completion of the action. Requires remedial actions for hazardous substances that remain on site to comply with any more stringent and legally applicable tribal standard. Directs the President to ensure that a remedial action attains standards of control protective of human health and the environment in cases where: (1) no Federal, State, or tribal standard has been established for the specific hazardous substance present at the facility where the action is being undertaken; or (2) there are multiple hazardous substances present and the remedial action is not protective even though applicable requirements would be attained. Removes a provision which requires the President to conform a remedial action to a State standard in cases where a State has initiated a law suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to May 1, 1986. Eliminates a provision which allows the President to select a remedial action that does not attain a standard equivalent to a legally applicable standard if compliance with requirements is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective. Sets forth minimum requirements for remedies for contaminated groundwater or surface water in cases where a legally applicable standard for a hazardous substance is waived. Authorizes the President to use institutional controls as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, other response measures under CERCLA. Lists requirements for actions that rely on institutional controls. Provides for funds to be established for facilities for which the selected remedy is containment or at which hazardous substances remain on site above levels that would allow for unrestricted use of the facility. Requires such funds to be sufficient to guarantee successful performance of a remedy and, to the extent technically feasible, future beneficial reuse. Directs the EPA Administrator (Administrator) to report annually to Congress, for each record of decision signed during the previous fiscal year, on the type of institutional controls and media affected and the institution designated to monitor, enforce, and ensure compliance with such controls. Makes procedural requirements of State laws inapplicable to the portion of any removal or remedial action conducted entirely on site, except for recordkeeping and reporting. (Sec. 102) Sets forth criteria for institutional control instruments. Requires the President, if such an instrument is adopted, to record a notice of property use restriction in the public land records for the jurisdiction in which the affected property is located. Makes such instruments enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated and released) against holders of interest in an affected property and all persons who subsequently acquire such interest. Directs the President to maintain a registry of all property at which institutional controls have been established in connection with response actions. Describes types of institutional control instruments, including easements. Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire an easement to limit or control the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used wherever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a response action. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties, issue orders imposing restrictions on land or natural resources, and include State institutional controls in response actions. (Sec. 103) Requires the President to ensure that a removal action is not undertaken in lieu of a long-term remedial action. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to make such grants available to Community Advisory Groups or affected communities (defined as two or more individuals affected by the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at a covered facility). Defines a "covered facility" as a facility: (1) that has been listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL); (2) at which the Administrator is undertaking an action anticipated to exceed one year or a specified funding limit; or (3) with respect to which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator has accepted a petition requesting a health assessment or related health activity. Expands the list of authorized grant activities and increases the maximum amount of such grants. Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of response activities under CERCLA. Permits Community Advisory Groups, affected Indian tribes and communities, and local government and health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at a covered facility available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to public notice of certain removal actions. (Sec. 203) Requires States or Indian tribes with covered facilities to establish Community Information and Access Offices. Provides funding for such Offices. Directs the Administrator to establish Offices for States or tribes that fail to do so. (Sec. 204) Requires the President to provide the opportunity for the establishment of a Community Advisory Group, a representative public forum, to achieve direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all interested parties throughout all stages of a response action whenever: (1) the President determines such a group will be helpful; or (2) ten individuals residing in the area in which the covered facility is located, or ten percent of the population of a locality in which the covered facility is located, whichever is fewer, petition for a Group to be established. Directs the President to adopt any consensus recommendation of a Group on land use as part of the remedy selected for the facility, with exceptions. Authorizes the President to provide administrative support for such groups. Directs the Administrator to submit to Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the speed of listing; (2) the speed and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) use of institutional controls; and (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. (Sec. 206) Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in response activities. Subtitle B: Human Health - Directs the President to notify State and local public health authorities and tribal health officials whenever there is reason to believe that a release (or threat of release) of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to perform a health assessment for each facility listed, or proposed for listing, on the NPL, including Federal facilities. Permits related health activities to be performed in lieu of assessments for facilities that are so listed or proposed for ecological reasons only. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. (Sec. 213) Provides for research on exposure or tolerance limits for hazardous substances found commonly at NPL facilities in cases where adequate information on health effects of a substance is not available. Expands the duties of the ATSDR Administrator to require the Administrator to establish an inventory of exposure or tolerance limits for such substances. (Sec. 215) Directs the President, in any case in which a person is relocated in order to reduce exposure and eliminate health risks from hazardous substances, to provide to the individual the replacement value of the individual's residence. (Sec. 216) Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to specified grants and contracts, to provide health services to communities affected by the release of hazardous substances. Makes funds available for such services for FY 2002 through 2006. (Sec. 217) Provides for cooperation with Indian tribes with respect to certain ATSDR activities. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to include in a biennial report on ATSDR activities the health impacts on Indian tribes of hazardous substances from covered facilities. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this title. Title III: Right to Know - Requires the annual disclosure of certain information by potentially responsible parties at NPL facilities and owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). Includes within such required disclosures information on quantities of certain hazardous substances and potential exposure of facility employees. Directs the Administrator to consolidate all annual reporting pursuant to title I of CERCLA and other Federal environmental laws to the extent not prohibited by such laws. Prescribes penalties for noncompliance with disclosure requirements. Amends EPCRA to permit the withholding of portions of information required to be disclosed under CERCLA for purposes of protecting trade secrets. (Sec. 302) Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to EPCRA reporting requirements to submit to the Administrator and State officials annual unstudied chemical release forms for each chemical subject to this section that was manufactured, processed, or used in quantities exceeding thresholds during the preceding year at the facility. Permits the Administrator to: (1) apply such requirements to other facilities that use unstudied chemicals, as appropriate; and (2) exclude a class of facilities in a Standard Industrial Classification Code that is required to report under EPCRA if unstudied chemicals will not cause certain adverse human health or environmental effects. Makes subject to the requirements of this section an unstudied chemical: (1) for which the information needed to complete a preliminary assessment of potential toxicity is not available; and (2) that is a compound containing at least carbon, hydrogen, and one or more of the elements chlorine, fluorine, or bromine or is a compound included on the 1990 High Production Volume List issued pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Authorizes the addition of chemicals subject to such requirements based on health or environmental effects or presence in human tissues, food stuffs, or drinking water. Excludes from reporting requirements chemicals: (1) that are listed under EPCRA; (2) that are high molecular weight polymers; or (3) for which information is publicly available. Sets forth provisions regarding information needed for preliminary assessment of potential toxicity of unstudied chemicals. Establishes threshold amounts of unstudied chemicals which trigger reporting requirements. Makes release form information publicly available. Authorizes petitions to the Administrator to compel certain actions under this title, including the exemption from reporting, addition of chemicals subject to reporting, and revision of thresholds. Requires the Administrator to establish a national unstudied chemicals inventory based on submitted data. Makes violations of this title subject to civil and administrative penalties under EPCRA. Provides trade secret protection for information disclosed under this title in the same manner as provided under EPCRA. Title IV: Environmental Justice - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, to publish a list of special priority areas which shall be geographic areas in which residents face a high degree of economic distress or social disenfranchisement. Provides for updates to such list no later than two years after each official census count on social and economic characteristics. Describes areas to be included on such list. Requires the President to advertise the right of petition for assessment of a hazardous substance release in such areas. Directs the President to publish a list of special priority facilities which shall be those facilities located in special priority areas that are: (1) listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System; (2) the subject of a petition; or (3) those the President considers appropriate. Establishes deadlines for completing preliminary assessments, site inspections, and hazard ranking of such facilities and for listing them on the NPL. Requires the President to ensure that a remedial action for any such facility on the NPL is completed within three years of placement on the NPL. Provides exceptions from placing such facilities on the NPL. Title V: Children's Environmental Health - Requires the ATSDR Administrator and the Administrator to create a scientifically peer-reviewed list of environmental pollutants commonly found at facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL with known or suspected health risks to which fetuses and children are especially susceptible. Provides for a toxicological profile for each listed substance. Directs the Administrator or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, to review and revise, where necessary, environmental and public health regulations, risk assessment policies and procedures, and guidance documents issued under CERCLA to determine whether they consider and fully protect fetal and children's health. Incorporates fetal and children's health concerns into all health research initiatives under CERCLA. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop: (1) guidelines for addressing fetal and children's health issues in health studies and research programs; and (2) criteria for determining when and what type of child-specific health study shall be conducted based on the results of a health assessment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the costs of such research programs should be borne by the manufacturers and processors of the hazardous substance in question. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to: (1) establish an exposure registry for all children exposed to hazardous substances as the result of a release at an NPL facility where levels of exposure are significant for children's health; and (2) implement specified children's environmental health education and training programs. Requires all lists, profiles, studies, and research results conducted under this title to be reported or adopted only after appropriate peer review. Sets forth requirements for peer reviews. Title VI: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Subtitle A: Brownfields - Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites and provide training in the cleanup of such sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as land that contains or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Sets forth grant application requirements and grant conditions. Requires States to submit information to the Administrator on brownfield sites. Directs the Administrator to compile a National Brownfields Registry. Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to be used by local governments to capitalize revolving loan funds for the cleanup of brownfield sites, including associated rivers and streams. Authorizes local governments to provide such loans to finance cleanups by such governments or by owners or prospective purchasers of affected brownfield sites. Sets forth grant application and agreement requirements. Requires grant recipients to report to the Administrator on the extent of local citizen involvement in funded projects. Authorizes the Administrator to award a grant to a State if necessary to facilitate the receipt of funds by local governments that do not have the capabilities to manage grants. Makes certain facilities ineligible for the grant program, including facilities that are the subject of response actions and Federal facilities. Authorizes the President to make exceptions for excluded facilities and allow grants on a facility-by-facility basis. Makes amounts available from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to carry out the grant programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, States, Indian tribes, municipalities, and other specified agencies and organizations for training, technology transfer, and information dissemination programs to strengthen environmental response activities. (Sec. 603) Requires the Administrator to provide grants and other forms of assistance for brownfields workforce training programs in communities that contain brownfield sites. Subtitle B: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 622) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 623) Exempts certain contiguous property owners from liability. Subtitle C: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants, in connection with the authority to guarantee obligations to finance certain community development activities, to eligible public entities for projects and activities for economic redevelopment of brownfield sites. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY 2001 through 2005. Title VII: Natural Resource Damages - Adds the reasonable costs of recovering natural resource damages to the list of recoverable damages for which liable parties are responsible under CERCLA. (Sec. 703) Eliminates the damage assessment rebuttable presumption and prescribes revised procedures for natural resource damage assessments. (Sec. 704) Authorizes a trustee for natural resources to establish an administrative record on which the trustee will base the selection of a plan for restoration of the resource. Provides for participation of interested persons in the development of an administrative record. (Sec. 705) Provides that the presence of hazardous substances in sediments of U.S. waters above background or reference levels shall be sufficient to establish injury to natural resources for purposes of determining liability. Directs the Administrator and the appropriate natural resource trustees to report to Congress on how response, remedial, and restoration actions are restoring and protecting natural resources affected by the facilities of: (1) Hudson River, New York; (2) Newark and New York Bays, New York and New Jersey; (3) Housatonic River, Connecticut and Massachusetts; (4) New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts; (5) Clark Fork River, Montana; (6) Lavaca Bay, Texas; (7) Palos Verdes, California; (8) Fox River, Wisconsin; (9) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and (10) Hanford, Washington. (Sec. 706) Requires natural resource trustees to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in restoration activities. (Sec. 707) Revises provisions regarding the statute of limitations on natural resource damage actions. (Sec. 708) Adds archaeological resources to the definition of "natural resources" under CERCLA. (Sec. 709) Authorizes citizen suits to recover natural resources damages. Title VIII: Federal Facilities - Revises provisions regarding the applicability of CERCLA to the U.S. Government. Makes Federal agencies subject to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response actions and damages related to, or management of, hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants in the same manner as any nongovernmental entity. Waives immunity of the United States with respect to the enforcement of injunctive relief. Makes Federal employees subject to criminal sanctions under State or Federal response laws. Authorizes the Administrator to issue an abatement order to a Federal agency and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner as action would be initiated against any other person. Requires all funds collected by a State from the Federal Government from penalties imposed under this section to be used only for projects to improve or protect the environment or to defray costs of environmental protection or enforcement unless a State law requires such funds to be used differently. Requires Federal agencies to notify States and the Administrator of removal actions. Sets forth additional conditions under which a Federal property may be transferred to any other person without a covenant warranting that all remedial action has been taken on the property. Establishes additional assurances to be contained in deeds governing such transfers with regard to hazardous substances releases for which a Federal agency is potentially responsible. Title IX: Liability - Provides exemptions to liability (including liability for contribution) for response costs for pre-July 1997 acts if liability is based solely on arranging for disposal, treatment, or transport of, or accepting, a specified limited amount of hazardous substances. Absolves certain small parties of liability based on arrangement or acceptance provisions if the substance involved was municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Removes a provision which excludes petroleum from the definition of "hazardous substance" under CERCLA. Provides that persons liable for willful releases of hazardous substances or threats thereof may be liable to the United States for punitive damages in an amount of up to two times the costs incurred by Superfund as a result of such a release. Title X: Funding - Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out specified Superfund authorities through FY 2005. (Sec. 1007) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental income tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2000, and before January 1, 2006. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Increases the ceiling on certain penalties under CERCLA. Prescribes penalties for specified additional violations. (Sec. 1103) Considers a remedial action that attains applicable requirements to be protective of human health and the environment unless the President determines otherwise. Directs the President to establish additional requirements to ensure such protection, as necessary. Provides that the decontamination regulations for site termination issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 21, 1997, shall not be considered sufficiently protective. Revises the definition of "federally permitted release" under CERCLA with respect to releases of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material in compliance with licenses, permits, regulations, or orders pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to apply such definition only if such licenses, permits, regulations, or orders adequately protect groundwater. Applies requirements of this Act pertaining to Federal facilities to facilities subject to licenses or decontamination regulations for license termination issued by the NRC. Amends environmental excise tax provisions to treat uranium dioxide as a taxable chemical only if it is used as a fuel in a nuclear reactor.
Bill· SS. 1636 (106th)open
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
HOPE for Africa Act of 1999 - Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) for the majority of people in sub-Saharan Africa to be able to benefit from new trade, investment, and other economic opportunities provided by this Act, the pre-existing burden of external debt of sub-Saharan African countries must be eliminated; and (2) only significant debt relief will allow operation of local credit markets and eliminate distortions currently hindering development in sub-Saharan Africa. Title I: Cancellation of Debt Owed by Sub-Saharan African Countries - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, with specified exceptions, 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. 101) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of State to notify foreign governments that have outstanding 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. 103) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to Congress a plan to advocate the cancellation of debt owed by sub-Saharan African countries to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), including proposed instructions to the U.S. Executive Directors of such financial institutions to use the U.S. vote to advocate that such institutions: (1) unconditionally cancel all debts owed by a sub-Saharan African country to such institution; and (2) provide that until all debts owed have been unconditionally canceled, 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. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress on the amount of debt owed to any U.S. person by any country in sub-Saharan Africa and include a plan to acquire each debt obligation owed to each U.S. person. (Sec. 105) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1999 to require the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission to 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. 106) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the government of each sub-Saharan African country should 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; and (2) prior to the unconditional 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 within 30 days after each country demonstrates that it: (1) is not ineligible for benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences of the Trade Act of 1974; (2) does not engage in significant violations of internationally recognized human rights; (3) provides for the enforcement of certain internationally recognized worker rights; and (4) 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 textile and apparel products imported from Kenya or Mauritius is 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 product 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 imported into 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: (1) that meets the requirements relating to human rights, workers rights, and illegal transshipments; and (2) 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 goods from a sub-Saharan African country. Sets forth penalties for violations of the requirements of 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 that import textiles or apparel goods into 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 articles set forth in the product list of the Lome Treaty that are the product of a beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African country, and in compliance with certain human rights requirements, if the President determines that such articles are not import-sensitive in the context of imports from such countries. Extends duty-free treatment to products from beneficiary developing sub-Saharan African countries through September 30, 2006. (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 declare that the HIV- AIDS epidemic and 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 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 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) 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. 306) Declares that amounts appropriated to the Development Fund for Africa shall be appropriated to a separate account for such Fund. 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 President to establish an advisory committee to assist the Board of Directors of OPIC 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. (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. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should encourage the accession of sub-Saharan African countries to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. (Sec. 602) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is in the interest of the United States to take all necessary steps to prevent further spread of infectious disease, particularly HIV-AIDS; and (2) individual countries should have the ability to determine the availability of pharmaceuticals and health care for their citizens, particularly with respect to the HIV-AIDS epidemic. Prohibits the obligation of funds appropriated to any Federal agency to seek the revocation or revisions of any sub-Saharan African intellectual property or competition law or policy designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies. (Sec. 603) Directs the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the availability of appropriations, to take steps to ensure that: (1) at least 20 full-time Commercial Service employees are stationed in sub-Saharan Africa; and (2) full-time Service employees are stationed in at least ten different sub-Saharan African countries. Title VII: Offset - Prohibits the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from carrying out research and development (R&D) activities relating to the performance of aircraft (including supersonic aircraft and subsonic aircraft) unless the Administrator receives full payment for such activities from the private sector.
Bill· SS. 1641 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
Cancer Screening Coverage Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, to provide coverage for certain types of cancer screening. Includes under such coverage mammograms, clinical breast examinations, pap tests and pelvic examinations, colorectal screening procedures, and prostate screening tests, at specified intervals and through specified procedures for certain age groups in appropriate genders, as well as other tests or procedures or modifications to tests or procedures which may be determined to be appropriate for the detection of cancer. Prohibits related eligibility discrimination, monetary incentives to individuals, and penalties or incentives to providers. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the requirements of this Act to coverage offered in the individual market. Amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 to mandate coordination of regulations, rulings, and interpretations among the Secretaries of the Treasury, of Health and Human Services, and of Labor relating to matters over which two or more of the Secretaries have responsibility. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to modify coverage requirements applicable pursuant to amendments made by this Act to reflect changes in medical practice or new scientific knowledge, on the Secretary's own initiative or upon petition of an individual or organization.
Bill· HRH.R. 2945 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1999
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly such services provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to provide for the exclusion of such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.
Bill· SS. 1631 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Graduate Medical Education Fair Technical Amendment Act of 1999 - Increases each limitation regarding the number of residents or interns for which graduate medical education (GME) payments may be made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act by the number of applicable residents who were GME participants at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility and subsequently transferred to a non-VA facility between January 1, 1997, and July 31, 1998, because the residents or interns medical residency program would lose its accreditation if such program continued to train residents at the VA facility.
Bill· SS. 1625 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for a special reclassification rule for certain old home health agencies located in Penobscot County, Maine, as new home health agencies under the Medicare home health interim payment system.
Bill· SS. 1628 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Medicare Physician Workforce Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the rules for determining the number of full-time equivalent residents in an approved medical residency training program for purposes of determining payments for direct graduate medical education (GME) costs to provide that a resident enrolled in a fellowship in geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry within an approved medical residency training program be counted twice for the period such resident is enrolled in such fellowship (thereby doubling GME payments made to teaching hospitals for geriatric fellows). Caps the double payment to be provided for an approved medical residency training program to a maximum of 400 fellows per year. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and conduct a limited number of demonstration projects to increase the number of certified geriatricians who are appropriately trained to provide items and services to beneficiaries under the Medicare program in a range of patient settings. Directs the Secretary to make annual reports to the Congress on such projects.
Bill· SS. 1630 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Geriatricians Loan Forgiveness Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that each year of training in geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry that is required in order to obtain a certificate of added qualification in geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry be deemed to be a year of obligated service. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for the year of obligated service described, to pay up to $20,000 on behalf of the individual for loans described under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. Limits the number of fellowship years in geriatric medicine or geriatric psychiatry that are deemed to be a year of obligated service, to not exceed 400 in any calendar year.
Bill· SS. 1626 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Medicare Patient Access to Technology Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) establishment of the Medicare Access to Technology Advisory Committee; and (2) annual adjustments to Medicare payment systems for changes in technology and medical practice. Provides for the treatment of new medical technologies under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services. Adds special rules for excluded technologies. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) make adjustments to the amounts payable under the PPS necessary to ensure that there is no increase or decrease in Medicare expenditures as a result of this Act; and (2) monitor the utilization of medical technology in hospital outpatient departments. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to report annually to the appropriate congressional committees on the changes in utilization of and access to medical technologies furnished under Medicare, together with recommendations for legislation and administrative actions to improve Medicare beneficiary access to appropriate medical technologies. Amends SSA title XVIII to prohibit the exclusion of a drug or biological from Medicare coverage because it is not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury or to improve the functioning of a malformed body member, if such drug or biological has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is prescribed for an FDA-approved use or a use supported in medical compendia. Directs the Secretary to: (1) accept recommendations for Health Care Financing Administration Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) level II code modifications yearly from the public; (2) cause determinations on recommendations received during the three months immediately preceding the last month of a calendar quarter to be made not later than the first day of the following calendar quarter; and (3) implement approved modifications to HCPCS level II codes established under Medicare (including the Medicare fee schedule database) with respect to the payment system not later than 180 days after the determination approving a modification was made. Sets forth a special rule for certain medical technologies with regard to HCPCS level II codes. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring a minimum period of marketing experience with respect to a drug or device as a condition of consideration or approval of a recommendation for a HCPCS level II code modification for such drug or device. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the feasibility and desirability of opening meetings of the HHS Alpha-Numeric Editorial Panel to the public. Directs the Secretary to maintain and continue the use of HCPCS level III codes (as in effect on June 1, 1999), and to make them available to the public.
Bill· HRH.R. 2925 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Medicare Beneficiary Prescription Drug Assistance and Stop-Loss Protection Act of 1999 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title XXVIII for the following purposes: (1) promoting qualified prescription drug coverage assistance for low-income Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries; (2) providing Medicare outpatient prescription drug stop-loss protection; and (3) providing access to prescription drug coverage under Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies.
Bill· HRH.R. 2930 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Women's Health Innovation Improvement Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase to at least $13 Medicare payment for pap smear laboratory tests.
Bill· HRH.R. 2926 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1999
Comprehensive Access and Responsibility in Health Care 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. 101) Requires a plan or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergency or ambulance services, to cover emergency services, including emergency ambulance services, without preauthorization and without regard to whether or not the health care provider is a participating one, among other specified conditions; (2) 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 care provider. Outlines rules permitting continuity of care for scheduled surgery, pregnancy, and terminal illness during specified transition periods because of provider termination as well as rules governing individual participation in approved clinical cancer trials. Requires a Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) study of, and report to Congress with regard to, cancer clinical research and its cost implications for managed care. (Sec. 102) Amends ERISA to require certain plan disclosures to network providers under specified conditions. Subtitle B: Patient Access to Information - Requires plans to include specified information in summary plan descriptions and to include certain information with adverse coverage decisions. 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: Group Health Plan Review Standards - Amends ERISA to require group health plans, in the case of included group health benefits, to: (1) provide written notice to participants or beneficiaries and providers of adverse coverage decisions; and (2) meet specified time limits for responding to requests for benefit payments, accelerated need requests, advance coverage determinations, medical necessity determinations, and experimental treatment determinations. Provides for internal and, in certain circumstances, external review of initial coverage decisions. Establishes certain review requirements. (Sec. 121) Outlines sanctions, which include civil monetary penalties, cease and desist orders, and removal (in the case of a fiduciary) for review violations. Provides for: (1) expedited court review; (2) awarding of attorney fees; and (3) concurrent Federal-State court jurisdiction for actions relating to certain amendments made by this Act. (Sec. 122) Amends ERISA to: (1) establish a special rule for access to specialty care; and (2) set out requirements for treatment of prescription drugs and medical devices as experimental or investigational. (Sec. 124) Exempts 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 specified other information developed by a health care provider, including internal review, to reduce mortality, morbidity, or for improving patient care or safety. Subtitle D: Small Business Access and Choice for Entrepreneurs - Amends ERISA to define "association health plan" to mean a group health plan meeting specified requirements, including being sponsored by a bona fide trade, industry, or professional association, or a chamber of commerce (or a similar bona fide business association) organized and maintained for substantial purposes other than that of obtaining or providing medical care. Provides for association and self-insured association plan certification and mandates a class certification procedure for association plans. (Sec. 131) 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 minimum 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. Directs the applicable authority to establish a Solvency Standards Working Group to make appropriate recommendations. Mandates advance notice to participants and beneficiaries of voluntary certified plan termination. Requires either corrective action or plan termination whenever it is determined that a plan has failed or will fail to maintain required reserves, excess stop loss insurance, and indemnification. 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. Makes the requirements for certification under this subtitle with regard to association health plans applicable only in connection with included group health plan benefits provided under the plan. Declares that the provisions of this subtitle supersede certain related State laws. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress the effect association health plans have had (if any) on reducing the number of uninsured individuals. (Sec. 132) Modifies the circumstances in which two or more trades or businesses must be deemed a single employer. (Sec. 133) 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. 134) Imposes criminal penalties for falsely representing any plan or other arrangement providing certain benefits as: (1) being a certified association plan; or (2) having been established or maintained under certain collective bargaining agreements. (Sec. 135) 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. Subtitle E: Health Care Access, Affordability, and Quality Commission - Amends ERISA to establish the Health Care Access, Affordability, and Quality Commission to: (1) conduct studies of certain critical areas, which include independent expert external review programs and consumer friendly information programs; (2) develop a form for remittance of claims to providers; (3) evaluate existing and proposed benefit requirements for group health plans, upon appropriate congressional request; and (4) submit to appropriate congressional committees written comments on certain reports by the Secretary to such committees. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Amendments to Public Health Service Act - Subtitle A: Patient Protections and Point of Service Coverage Requirements - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) 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. 201) Requires a plan or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergency or ambulance services, to cover emergency services, including emergency ambulance services, without preauthorization and without regard to whether or not the health care provider is a participating one, among other specified conditions; (2) gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without authorization or referral by a primary provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist care benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary care provider. Outlines rules on continuity of care and individual participation in approved clinical cancer trials that are similar to those outlined above in title I of this Act. Requires, as well, a similar HHS Secretary study of, and report to, Congress concerning cancer clinical research and managed care. (Sec. 202) 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 - Amends PHSA to require disclosure by health insurance issuers of group health plans to plan administrators of information necessary to: (1) provide participants and beneficiaries with information in a manner and to an extent consistent with that above under subtitle B of title I of this Act; and (2) include a similar mandate for advance notice with regard to drug formularies that is also under such subtitle. (Sec. 212) Details requirements for treatment of prescription drugs and medical devices as experimental or investigational. Subtitle C: HealthMarts - Amends PHSA to require that HealthMarts: (1) be legal entities composed of small employers, employees of small employers, certain other individuals, 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 and their dependents and to certain other individuals 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 any coverage made available to an eligible employee or individual in a geographic area be offered to all eligible employees or individuals in the same area. (Sec. 221) 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: (1) coverage through an HMO, a preferred provider or licensed provider-sponsored organization, an insurance company, or a medical savings or flexible spending account; (2) coverage that includes a point-of-service option; or (3) any combination of those coverages. Requires a HealthMart to permit employers or certain individuals, if coverage is offered through the HealthMart for such an employer or individual, to contract for such coverage. Prohibits the HealthMart from varying eligibility conditions (including premium rates and membership fees). Prohibits the purchaser from obtaining or sponsoring coverage other than through the HealthMart. Prohibits a HealthMart from denying enrollment to eligible individuals based on health, except as otherwise permitted. Supersedes certain related State laws and makes them inapplicable, except with regard to coverage option availability, with respect to coverage through a HealthMart. Provides for the application of: (1) certain existing ERISA and PHSA requirements; and (2) renewability requirements when the contract between a HealthMart and an issuer is terminated. Directs the HHS Secretary to administer this subtitle. Subtitle D: Community Health Organizations - Amends PHSA to allow 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 HHS Secretary and other requirements are met. (Sec. 231) 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 (IRC) to prohibit a group health plan from imposing on a health professional any restriction on advice provided to a participant or beneficiary. (Sec. 301) Requires a plan, if it provides benefits for: (1) emergency or ambulance services, to cover emergency services, including emergency ambulance services, without preauthorization and without regard to whether or not the health care provider is a participating provider, among other specified conditions; (2) gynecological or obstetric specialist care benefits, to provide those benefits without authorization or referral by a primary care provider; or (3) routine pediatric specialist benefits, to allow designation of a pediatric specialist as the primary care provider. Outlines rules on continuity of care and individual participation in approved clinical cancer trials that are similar to those outlined above in titles I and II of this Act. Provides for associated study and reporting requirements similar to those in titles I and II of this Act. Subtitle B: Medical Savings Accounts - Amends IRC to repeal 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. Subtitle C: Tax Incentives for Health Care - Amends the IRC to provide, among other changes, for: (1) a graduated tax deduction for health and long-term care insurance coverage costs of an individual, with such deduction increased to100 percent of the amount paid during a taxable year for such coverage costs for taxable years after calendar year 2006, while disallowing such tax deduction for coverage costs under certain subsidized employer plans; (2) a limited, refundable tax credit for qualified health insurance coverage costs of an individual taxpayer, his spouse, and dependents; (3) a requirement that any person who conducts a trade or business and receives payments during any calendar year from any individual for coverage of such individual or any other individual under creditable health insurance shall make a prescribed tax return relating to such payments; (4) advance payment of health insurance credit for purchasers of qualified health insurance; and (5) carryover of unused benefits from cafeteria plans and flexible spending or similar arrangements to later taxable years. (Sec. 323) Directs the HHS Secretary to provide for a study and report to Congress on State safety-net health insurance programs for the medically uninsurable. 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 PHSA title XXI (Vaccines) applies; or (2) under ERISA. Preempts State laws inconsistent with this title, but not those that impose greater restrictions than those in this title. Excludes non-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. 412) Limits non-economic damages that may be awarded to an injured claimant. Substitutes any different level set by a State after enactment of this Act. Makes defendants liable only for the proportion of the non-economic damages due to the defendant's fault. Allows limited 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. 413) Limits contingent fees. Requires any alternative dispute resolution used to resolve a health care liability action or claim to contain provisions consistent with this title. (Sec. 414) Requires the General Accounting Office to report to specified congressional committees on the compliance of: (1) the Department of Justice and all U.S. Attorneys with a specified guideline relating to false claims in civil health care matters; and (2) the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services with specified protocols and best practice guidelines.
Bill· SS. 1616 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a proposal for a system within the Department of Veterans Affairs for the collection of payments from third party payers under the Department's Medical Care Cost Recovery Program which shall utilize procedures similar to those utilized in the private sector for the collection of payments from third parties for health care costs. Requires the Secretary, for an interim period, to collect payments under the Program solely through contracted private entities. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the proposed system within three years after the enactment of this Act, and to implement the system 90 days thereafter. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· SS. 1618 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Medicare Wellness Act of 1999 - Title I: Healthy Seniors Promotion Program - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Healthy Seniors Working Group to establish policies and criteria for the HHS Secretary to make grants to approved applicants to study specified approaches to further health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 102) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) encourage inclusion of preventive health measures in all Medicare treatments; (2) HCFA expand the study of the most promising behavioral modification of risk factors associated with health promotion and disease prevention for all Medicare beneficiaries; and (3) the National Library of Medicine establish a Medicare health promotion and disease prevention intervention clearinghouse. Title II: Medicare Coverage of Preventive Services - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to outline Medicare coverage of various specified preventive services, including: (1) counseling for cessation of tobacco use; (2) screening for hypertension; (3) counseling for hormone replacement therapy; (4) screening for glaucoma and for diminished visual acuity; and (5) screening and counseling for osteoporosis. (Sec. 209) Waives coinsurance and deductibles for certain preventive services, such as: (1) diabetes outpatient self-management training services; (2) colorectal and prostate cancer screening tests; and (3) bone mass measurement. (Sec. 210) Directs the Secretary to conduct a national falls prevention and awareness campaign to reduce fall-related injuries among Medicare beneficiaries and to integrate specified preventive benefits added by this Act with existing program integrity measures. Title III: Medicare Health Education and Risk Appraisal Program - Amends SSA title XVIII to direct the HHS Secretary to: (1) establish a health education and risk appraisal program to inform certain target individuals, including Medicare beneficiaries, of described major behavioral risk factors through self-assessment; and (2) conduct periodic followups. Title IV: Disease Self-Management Demonstration Projects - Establishes in HHS a Disease Self-Management Working Group. Directs the HHS Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to promote disease self-management for conditions identified by the Group for described target individuals. Provides funding. Title V: Studies and Reports Advancing Original Research in the Field of Disease Prevention and the Elderly - Amends SSA title XVIII to revise reporting requirements for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. (Sec. 502) Directs the Director of the National Institutes on Aging to conduct one or more studies, for associated reports to the HHS Secretary and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, that focus on ways to: (1) improve quality of life for the elderly; (2) develop better ways to prevent or delay the onset of age-related functional decline and disease and disability among the elderly; and (3) develop means of assessing the long-term development of cost-effective benefits and cost-saving benefits for health promotion and disease prevention among the elderly. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 503) Directs the HHS Secretary to contract with the Institute to study and report to the President and Congress on health promotion and disease prevention among Medicare beneficiaries. (Sec. 504) Provides for fast-track consideration of prevention benefit legislation in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
Bill· HRH.R. 2914 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Tobacco Free Internet for Kids Act - Prohibits: (1) the sale of tobacco products to an individual under the age of 18 using the Internet or the Postal Service or other carrier; and (2) shipping in interstate commerce tobacco products which have been so sold. Authorizes the attorney general or other chief law enforcement officer of a State, with reasonable cause, to bring a civil action for injunctive relief to restrain a person from engaging, or continuing to engage, in a violation of this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding Federal jurisdiction, requirements for injunctions and court orders, and criminal penalties.
Bill· HRH.R. 2912 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the transitional increased Federal matching rate for increased administrative costs related to Medicaid-eligibility determinations of individuals receiving aid or assistance under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Repeals the expiration of additional Federal funds for such Medicaid-eligibility determinations (thus making such provisions permanent and such additional Federal funds available on a fiscal year basis). Includes as administrative expenditures those attributable to the administrative costs of eligibility determinations under SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) with regard to children and pregnant women and outreach to such populations likely to be eligible for such benefits.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 299 (106th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1999
Sets forth the rule (modified closed ) for the consideration of H.R. 2506 (Agency for Health Care Policy and Research extension).
Bill· SS. 1609 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
American Hospital Preservation Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to reduce for FY 2000 through 2002 the market basket percentage based update factor used for purposes of determining payment for prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals for inpatient hospital services.
Bill· SS. 1605 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Women and Children's Resources Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to States for programs designed to provide alternative-to-abortion services to eligible individuals. Makes eligible for such services: (1) pregnant individuals; (2) individuals (male or female) who are the parent or legal guardian of an infant under 12 months; or (3) spouses or other partners of such individuals. Requires grants funds to be awarded only to States that assure that the program will: (1) give priority to serving individuals from low-income families; and (2) not impose a charge on such individuals except to the extent that payment will made by a third party authorized or legally obligated to pay such charge. Sets forth provisions regarding operation of such programs, including contracting and grant expenditure requirements. Requires prime contractors to have a stated policy of actively promoting childbirth instead of abortion. Bars prime contractors or service providers from performing abortions, providing abortion counseling or referrals, or advocating abortions. Requires States applying for grants under this Act to assure that no grant funds will be expended for: (1) performing abortions, providing abortion counseling or referrals, or advocating abortion; or (2) providing, making referrals for, or advocating the use of contraceptives. (Sec. 5) Makes religious organizations eligible to provide services under State programs established under this Act on the same basis as other nongovernmental organizations. Provides certain safeguards to such organizations, including certain rights with respect to employment practices. Requires States to provide an eligible individual with names and addresses of alternative service providers in the case of an objection to an organization's religious character. Bars such organizations from discriminating against an individual with regard to providing services on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or refusal to participate in a religious practice. Prohibits the use of funds obtained pursuant to this Act for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 7) Bases the allotment of funds to a State on the State-calculated percentage of the total appropriations authorized under this Act. Requires such percentage to be determined by dividing: (1) the number of children born in the State to women who were not married at the time of the birth plus the number of abortions performed in the State; by (2) the number of children born in all States to women who were not married at the time of the birth plus the number of abortions performed in all States as last reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sec. 11) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 12) Expresses the sense of the Senate that overall funding for the Department of HHS should not be increased under this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2901 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Women and Children's Resources Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to States for programs designed to provide alternative-to-abortion services to eligible individuals. Makes eligible for such services: (1) pregnant individuals; (2) individuals (male or female) who are the parent or legal guardian of an infant under 12 months; or (3) spouses or other partners of such individuals. Requires grants funds to be awarded only to States that assure that the program will: (1) give priority to serving individuals from low-income families; and (2) not impose a charge on such individuals except to the extent that payment will be made by a third party authorized or legally obligated to pay such charge. Sets forth provisions regarding operation of such programs, including contracting and grant expenditure requirements. Requires prime contractors to have a stated policy of actively promoting childbirth instead of abortion. Bars prime contractors or service providers from performing abortions, providing abortion counseling or referrals, or advocating abortions. Requires States applying for grants under this Act to assure that no grant funds will be expended for: (1) performing abortions, providing abortion counseling or referrals, or advocating abortion; or (2) providing, making referrals for, or advocating the use of contraceptives. (Sec. 5) Makes religious organizations eligible to provide services under State programs established under this Act on the same basis as other nongovernmental organizations. Provides certain safeguards to such organizations, including certain rights with respect to employment practices. Requires States to provide an eligible individual with names and addresses of alternative service providers in the case of an objection to an organization's religious character. Bars such organizations from discriminating against an individual with regard to providing services on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or refusal to participate in a religious practice. Prohibits the use of funds obtained pursuant to this Act for sectarian worship, instruction, or proselytization. (Sec. 7) Bases the allotment of funds to a State on the State-calculated percentage of the total appropriations authorized under this Act. Requires such percentage to be determined by dividing: (1) the number of children born in the State to women who were not married at the time of the birth plus the number of abortions performed in the State; by (2) the number of children born in all States to women who were not married at the time of the birth plus the number of abortions performed in all States as last reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sec. 11) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 12) Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that overall funding for the Department of HHS should not be increased under this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 2892 (106th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 1999
Access to Innovation for Medicare Patients Act of 1999 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of self-injected biologicals approved by the Food and Drug Administration that are prescribed for use in the treatment of the same disease or medical condition in lieu of a drug or biological which cannot be self-administered.