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351 records in US in 1979
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1979
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the week of April 6 through April 12, 1980, as "National Medic Alert Week."
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1979
Amends title II of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 (Community Mental Health Centers) to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, acting through the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape, to provide financial and technical assistance to State and local government agencies and nonprofit organizations for rape prevention and treatment services, including training programs in counseling techniques, direct treatment, community education, transportation costs, self-help programs, telephone systems, emergency shelter programs, and demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1979 - Amends title III of the Public Health Service Act (General Powers and Duties of Public Health Service) to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish a system for the licensing of all clinical laboratories subject to national standards provided for under this Act. Prohibits a clinical laboratory subject to such standards from performing any tests or providing any services without a valid license. Sets forth circumstances under which the Secretary may suspend or revoke a laboratory's license. Directs the Secretary to promulgate national standards for clinical laboratories, designed to assure consistent performance of accurate and reliable tests and other procedures and services. Stipulates that such standards shall: (1) require clinical laboratories subject to the standards to maintain appropriate quality control programs; (2) require such laboratories to maintain records, equipment, and facilities necessary for effective operation; (3) include requirements for periodic proficiency testing of laboratories; (4) prescribe qualifications for directors, supervisors, and technical personnel employed in laboratories; and (5) include adequate provisions for the inspection of laboratories and the enforcement of standards. Provides that the standards may vary on the basis of the type of laboratory services provided or the purposes for which the services are performed. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) job-related proficiency and practical examinations for clinical laboratory personnel; (2) mechanisms to assure the continued competence of such personnel; and (3) standards for the proficiency testing of clinical laboratories. Provides that the standards provisions relating to personnel qualifications shall not apply for a two-year period to certain clinical laboratories located in rural areas. Authorizes the Secretary to exempt from the national standards clinical laboratories which: (1) are operated by a licensed physician, dentist, or podiatrist, or a group of not more than five such practitioners, or in a rural health clinic, and in which only routine tests or procedures are performed, or in which more than routine tests or procedures are performed, if the laboratory successfully participates in an approved proficiency-testing program; (2) perform tests or procedures primarily for biomedical or behavioral research; or (3) perform tests or procedures only to assist insurers with respect to insurance contracts. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with: (1) qualified private nonprofit organizations to administer tests and make inspections as provided for under this Act; and (2) States to administer the licensure program provided in this Act under the Medicare program. Subjects Federal clinical laboratories under the jurisdiction of the Secretary to the national standards, with certain exceptions. Prohibits: (1) the solicitation or acceptance of specimens for laboratory tests or procedures by a clinical laboratory which is required to be licensed and which either does not have such a license or is not permitted under such license to perform the planned test or procedure; (2) misrepresentation with respect to the license application or conversion of an application to an unauthorized use; and (3) the solicitation or receipt, or the offer or payment, of any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or rebate) with respect to laboratory services. Authorizes the Secretary to enjoin the continuation of any activity by a clinical laboratory required to be licensed under this Act which constitutes a substantial risk to the public health. Prohibits an employer from taking action against an employee who has assisted or participated in an investigation of such employer pursuant to this Act. Establishes a procedure for investigating and correcting employers' retaliatory actions against employees. Requires the Secretary to designate a Director of Clinical Laboratories who shall be responsible for establishing a uniform regulatory policy with respect to laboratory provisions under this Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and Medicare and Medicaid. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to: (1) States to assist their laboratory enforcement capability; and (2) laboratories, including a training program for employees where deficiencies have been documented. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private entities for projects and studies on laboratory methodology and utilization. Authorizes appropriations of $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1981 through 1983 for these purposes. Directs the Secretary to report annually to Congress with respect to the accuracy and costs of laboratory tests and procedures during the previous fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies of: (1) existing voluntary certification standards and State licensure laws for laboratory personnel; (2) qualifications of entities that certify such personnel; (3) existing and proposed public and private mechanisms to determine the continued competence of such personnel; (4) existing laboratory proficiency testing methods; and (5) the relationship of requirements for such personnel and of clinical laboratory proficiency testing requirements with clinical laboratory performance. Specifies analyses to be included in such studies, and directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the results of the studies. Requires the Secretary to reimburse to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund any amount expended from such funds with respect to the licensing of non-Medicare laboratories. Repeals the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1967. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress with respect to the exemption of laboratories from the standards under this Act. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require all clinical laboratories to be licensed under this Act as a condition for Medicare certification. Sets forth requirements with respect to payment for laboratory tests under Medicare. Stipulates that pathology services shall be considered "physicians' services" to patients for purposes of reimbursement under Medicare only where the physician personally performs or directs such services. Revises the term "medical and other health services" with respect to certain services furnished to inpatients of a provider of services. Disallows charges for physicians' services which are related to a hospital's income or receipts to the extent that they exceed a reasonable salary or fee paid for the service actually performed plus costs. Disallows reimbursement to a hospital for the reasonable costs of services furnished by a physician under an arrangement with the hospital or medical school to the extent that the payment exceeds an amount equal to the salary which would reasonably have been paid for the services if the physician had performed such services in an employment relationship with such hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide medical assistance under the Medicaid program for a severely disabled individual, notwithstanding such individual's performance of "substantial gainful activity" as defined under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Food Additive Safety Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem any food additive safe if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare: (1) makes a finding based on recommendations of an advisory committee, that the public benefit from permitting the use of such additive would exceed the public risk which might result from such use; (2) gives notice in the Foreign Register of such a finding and invites public comment; and (3) issues a final order not earlier than 120 days after such publication in the Federal Register of such findings. Specifies factors the Secretary must take into consideration when evaluating a food additive.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Amends title XIV of the Public Health Service Act (Safety of Public Water Systems) to extend the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1981 for: (1) research, technical assistance, information, and training of personnel with respect to providing safe drinking water; and (2) grants to States to carry out public water system supervision programs and underground water source protection programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1979
Asbestos Health Hazards Compensation Act - Title I: General Provisions - States the findings and purpose of this Act. Title II: Claims for Benefits Accruing on or before December 31, 1979 - Entitles any person whose occupation involves exposure to asbestos (or a member of such person's household) and whose disability (or death) is due to an asbestos-related disease to benefits for claims accruing and/or arising on or before December 31, 1979. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe standards for determining whether an affected person is disabled due to asbestos-related disease or whether the death of an affected person was due to such disease. Specifies the amounts of benefits to be paid to such person. Entitles any affected person who is not entitled to medical expenses for the treatment of an asbestos-related disease under a State workers' compensation law to such payments under this Act. Title III: Claims for Benefits Accruing After December 31, 1979 - Provides that the responsibility for benefit payments accruing and/or arising on or after January 1, 1980 shall be borne equally by the United States and the "responsible parties," defined to mean any entity engaged in: (1) the manufacture and first sale of any product or substance containing asbestos; (2) the import for sale or distribution of products containing asbestos; and (3) the manufacture and first sale or import for sale or distribution of cigarettes or cigarette tobacco. Establishes within the Department of Labor the Asbestos Health Hazards Compensation Fund for the satisfaction of all valid claims for benefits under this title. Establishes a Board of Directors for the Fund and sets forth the duties of the Board. Provides for the development and maintenance of the Fund by means of equal contributions from the responsible parties and the United States. Classifies responsible parties into three groups, according to the products and substances with which their business is concerned and the likelihood that asbestos dust will be produced. Sets forth the formulas for the contribution of responsible parties in each class to the Fund. Directs the Secretary, with the advice and concurrence of the Director of the Internal Revenue Service, to insure that such contributions are collected from the responsible parties.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Hospital Cost Containment Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to promulgate annually, beginning January, 1980: (1) a national voluntary percentage limit on hospital expenses; and (2) a voluntary percentage limit on hospital expenses for each State. Specifies the formulas for calculating such limits. Includes as factors for determining the national limit: (1) the average wage increase paid to employees (excluding supervisors and doctors of medicine or osteopathy) of hospitals in the United States; (2) the average price increase in the U.S. paid in appropriate classes of goods and services (to be determined by the Secretary); (3) the percent of hospital expenses attributable to such wage and price increases; (4) the annual increase in the national population; and (5) a one percent allowance for the net increase in hospital service intensity. Includes these factors in the formula for determining the State limits, except bases the average wage increase on employees of hospitals in each State and utilizes the population increase in each State. Directs the Secretary to promulgate annually, beginning January 1980, a voluntary percentage limit for each hospital for the hospital's accounting period ending in 1979. Specifies the formula for calculating such limit. Directs the Secretary to promulgate annually, beginning January, 1981, a voluntary percentage limit for each hospital not subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for the hospital's accounting period ending in the preceding year. Specifies the formula for calculating such limit. Directs the Secretary to determine or estimate before July 1, 1980, and before July 1 of each succeeding year: (1) the difference in dollars between (A) the percentage increase in the expenses of each hospital not subject to a mandatory limit under this Act in the preceding year, and (B) the voluntary percentage limit for the hospital for the accounting period; and (2) the sum of such differences. Provides that: (1) if such sum is zero or less, no hospital shall be subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for its accounting period ending the year; or (2) if such sum is greater than zero, then the Secretary shall determine the sum of the differences in each relevant State. Defines "relevant State" for such purposes. Provides that: (1) if this sum is zero or less in a particular State, no hospital in that State shall be subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for its accounting period ending in the year; or (2) every hospital, for each accounting period beginning after January 1, 1979, and for each succeeding accounting period, shall be subject to a mandatory limit as prescribed by this Act, unless such hospital is otherwise exempted by this Act. Requires the Secretary to exclude the hospitals in a particular State from such mandatory limits at the request of the chief executive of any State, under specified conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to exempt a hospital from such mandatory limit upon a determination that such exemption is necessary to facilitate certain experiments or demonstrations entered into under specified laws. Specifies: (1) the formula for calculating mandatory limits; and (2) the circumstances under which the average reimbursement payable to a hospital by a cost payer per admission, and the average inpatient charges per admission of a hospital, for any accounting period of the hospital subject to a mandatory limit, exceed such limit. Directs the Secretary, in calculating such mandatory limits, to develop: (1) a system of grouping hospitals by appropriate characteristics, such as patient case mix and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan setting; and (2) a method of measuring efficiency within each group that provides for setting a group norm defined in terms of all or certain hospital expenses. Requires the Secretary to assign to each hospital in a group a percentage bonus or penalty related to the extent to which a hospital's expenses differ from the group norm, according to a specified formula. Allows the Secretary to make further adjustments to such percentage bonus or penalty in order to allow for changes in admissions or other factors warranting special consideration. Sets for procedures by which a hospital may request the Secretary to exercise such discretion. Prohibits the reimbursement for inpatient hospital services provided under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) to the extent that it exceeds the applicable mandatory limits established under this Act or under a State mandatory hospital cost containment program of a State whose hospitals have been excluded under this Act. Provides that: (1) payment shall not be made to any State; and (2) payment shall not be required to be made by any State under title V (Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services) or title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to any amount paid for inpatient hospital services in excess of the applicable mandatory limits established under this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on a hospital an excise tax equal to 150 percent of the amount of excess reimbursement which such hospital has with respect to a cost payer for an accounting period subject to a mandatory limit. Imposes such tax on a private cost payer, if a hospital has such excess reimbursement with respect to such payer. Imposes on a hospital which has excess inpatient charges for an accounting period subject to a mandatory limit, an excise tax equal to the product of 150 percent of the amount of excess inpatient charges of the hospital for the accounting period, and the fraction of such charges not attributable to cost payers. Sets forth procedures for the payment of such taxes, or for the deferral and abatement of such taxes, if a hospital has an escrow account approved by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services program a hospital which changes its admission practices in a manner that tends to reduce the proportion of inpatients for whom reimbursement is less than the anticipated inpatient charges applicable to them. Establishes a 15-member, part-time National Commission on Hospital Cost Containment to advise the Secretary with respect to the implementation of this Act, and other matters affecting hospital expenses or revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment for specified services performed by chiropractors, including x-rays and for physical examinations, and for related routine laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Designates the Veterans' Administration-University of California, San Francisco Medical School medical education building to be located on the grounds of the Veterans' Administration Hospital, Fresno, California, as the "Milo E. Rowell Medical Education Building."
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Food Additives Amendment of 1977 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the use of a food additive found to induce cancer in animals if the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare determines that such food additive does not present a significant risk to human health. Directs the Secretary to consider certain factors in making such a determination.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment under the medicare program for the trimming of club nails and the cutting and removal of corns, warts, and calluses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1979
Hospital Cost Containment Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to promulgate annually, beginning January, 1980: (1) a national voluntary percentage limit on hospital expenses; and (2) a voluntary percentage limit on hospital expenses for each State. Specifies the formulas for calculating such limits. Includes as factors for determining the national limit: (1) the average wage increase paid to employees (excluding supervisors and doctors of medicine or osteopathy) of hospitals in the United States; (2) the average price increase in the U.S. paid in appropriate classes of goods and services (to be determined by the Secretary); (3) the percent of hospital expenses attributable to such wage and price increases; (4) the annual increase in the national population; and (5) a one percent allowance for the net increase in hospital service intensity. Includes these factors in the formula for determining the State limits, except that the average wage increase is to be based on employees of hospitals in each State and the annual population increase is based on increases in each State. Directs the Secretary to promulgate annually, beginning January 1980, a voluntary percentage limit for each hospital for the hospital's accounting period ending in 1979. Specifies the formula for calculating such limit. Directs the Secretary to promulgate annually, beginning January, 1981, a voluntary percentage limit for each hospital not subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for the hospital's accounting period ending in the preceding year. Specifies the formula for calculating such limit. Directs the Secretary to determine or estimate before July 1, 1980, and before July 1 of each succeeding year: (1) the difference in dollars between (A) the percentage increase in the expenses of each hospital not subject to a mandatory limit under this Act in the preceding year, and (B) the voluntary percentage limit for the hospital for the accounting period; and (2) the sum of such differences. Provides that: (1) if such sum is zero or less, no hospital shall be subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for its accounting period ending in the year; or (2) if such sum is greater than zero, then the Secretary shall determine the sum of the differences in each relevant State. Defines "relevant State" for such purposes. Provides that: (1) if this sum is zero or less in a particular State, no hospital in that State shall be subject to a mandatory limit under this Act for its accounting period ending in the year; or (2) every hospital, for each accounting period beginning after January 1, 1979, and for each succeeding accounting period, shall be subject to a mandatory limit as prescribed by this Act, unless such hospital is otherwise exempted by this Act. Requires the Secretary to exclude the hospitals in a particular State from such mandatory limits at the request of the chief executive of any State, under specified conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to exempt a hospital from such mandatory limit upon a determination that such exemption is necessary to facilitate certain experiments or demonstrations entered into under specified laws. Specifies: (1) the formula for calculating mandatory limits; and (2) the circumstances under which the average reimbursement payable to a hospital by a cost payer per admission, and the average inpatient charges per admission of a hospital, for any accounting period of the hospital subject to a mandatory limit, exceed such limit. Directs the Secretary, in calculating such mandatory limits, to develop: (1) a system of grouping hospitals by appropriate characteristics, such as patient case mix and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan setting; and (2) a method of measuring efficiency within each group that provides for setting a group norm, defined in terms of all or certain hospital expenses. Requires the Secretary to assign to each hospital in a group a percentage bonus or penalty related to the extent to which a hospital's expenses differ from the group norm, according to a specified formula. Allows the Secretary to make further adjustments to such percentage bonus or penalty in order to allow for changes in admissions or other factors warranting special consideration. Sets forth procedures by which a hospital may request the Secretary to exercise such discretion. Prohibits the reimbursement for inpatient hospital services provided under Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) to the extent that it exceeds the applicable mandatory limits established under this Act or under a State mandatory hospital cost containment program of a State whose hospitals have been excluded under this Act. Provides that: (1) payment shall not be made to any State; and (2) payment shall not be required to be made by any State under title V (Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services) or title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to any amount paid for inpatient hospital services in excess of the applicable mandatory limits established under this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on a hospital an excise tax equal to 150 percent of the amount of excess reimbursement which such hospital has with respect to a cost payer for an accounting period subject to a mandatory limit. Imposes such tax on a private cost payer, if a hospital has such excess reimbursement with respect to such payer. Imposes on a hospital which has excess inpatient charges for an accounting period subject to a mandatory limit, an excise tax equal to the product of 150 percent of the amount of excess inpatient charges of the hospital for the accounting period, and the fraction of such charges not attributable to cost payers. Sets forth procedures for the payment of such taxes, or for the deferral and abatement of such taxes, if a hospital has an escrow account approved by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to exclude from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services program a hospital which changes its admission practices in a manner that tends to reduce the proportion of inpatients for whom reimbursement is less than the anticipated inpatient charges applicable to them. Establishes a 15-member, part-time National Commission on Hospital Cost Containment to advise the Secretary with respect to the implementation of this Act, and other matters affecting hospital expenses or revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1979
Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to classify automated blood pressure machines as class II medical devices under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, notwithstanding requirements under such Act for the classification of a medical device as a class II medical device.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1979
Brown Lung Benefits Act - Entitles textile workers to claim benefits for death or total disability due to byssinosis (brown lung disease). Specifies the amounts of such payments, which are to be paid by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Provides that such benefits payments shall be reduced by the amount of payments received from certain other sources, such as workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, disability insurance, or a percentage of social security benefits. Requires any such claim to be also filed under the applicable State workers' compensation law. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to assure that the United States is equitably reimbursed by textile plant operators, on the basis of their yearly tonnage of cotton consumption, for the benefits paid under this Act. Stipulates that this Act does not relieve any employer of a textile plant of the duty to comply with any State workers' compensation law and that any such law which provides greater benefits shall not be construed to conflict with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1979
Health Planning Amendments of 1979 - Title I: Revision and Extension of National Health Planning and Development Authority - Amends title XV of the Public Health Service Act (National Health Planning and Development) to increase from 15 to 20 the membership of the National Council on Health Planning and Development. Increases from five to eight the minimum number of Council members who must be consumers, including members of urban and rural medical underserved populations. Permits the Governor of any State which comprises part of an interstate health service area to request that such area contain only part of a standard metropolitan statistical area, without the concurrence of the Governors of the other States which are part of such area, as required under current law. Requires that the national guidelines for health planning issued by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare include standards which reflect the unique circumstances and needs of medical underserved populations including isolated rural communities. Revises the procedures for the redesignation of health service area boundaries. Directs the Secretary to review such boundaries on his own initiative, or at the request of any Governor or health systems agency (HSA), and provides that they may be redesignated if the boundaries of the proposed health service area meet the current requirements in a significantly more appropriate manner. Provides that no proposed revision of a health service area shall comprise an entire State without the prior consent of the Governor. Directs the Secretary to establish by January 1, 1980, criteria for revision of health service area boundaries. Eliminates the provision which gives priority for designation of health service areas which formerly had an area wide Comprehensive Health Planning Agency under previous health planning authority. Requires each health systems agency (HSA) and each Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) to adopt procedures in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary to insure that no conflicts of interest exist with respect to their members, employees, consultants, or agents. Requires HSA staff to have expertise in mental health planning and resources, financial and economic analysis, and public health and disease prevention. Provides that at least one member of such staff shall be responsible for assisting the consumer members of the HSA governing body. Directs each HSA to establish and make public a process for the selection of the members of its governing body and any subarea advisory councils, which assures: (1) selection in accordance with concurrent composition requirements; and (2) the opportunity for, and encouragement of, broad participation of the residents of the health service area. Requires such process to prohibit the selection of members by other members of such body or councils. Provides that an HSA that is a public regional planning body or local government unit is not required to delegate to a separate governing body for health planning the exclusive authority to perform certain functions. Revises the requirements for the membership of HSA governing bodies with respect to government representatives. Authorizes such bodies to make advances to HSA members for reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of HSA duties. Excepts from the current requirement that HSA governing body meetings be public, meetings dealing with HSA employees which, if public, would be an unwarranted invasion of such employee's privacy. Extends similar scope of protection to HSA personnel records and data and to employees of State health planning and development agencies. Eliminates the current provision that consumers on HSA governing bodies cannot have been health care providers within the 12 months preceding appointment. Permits providers whose principal place of business is in an HSA area to be members of such HSA's governing body. Adds "non-professional health workers" and "other providers of health and mental health care" as additional provider categories with respect to HSA governing body composition. Requires that subcommittees or advisory groups of HSA boards have a consumer majority. Provides that no member, employee, consultant, or agent of a HSA or SHCC shall be personally liable for damages under any Federal or State law if such individual could have reasonably believed that he was acting in an official capacity and acted without gross negligence or malice. Requires any executive committee of a HSA, subarea advisory council, or other entities appointed under a HSA to conduct its business in public, give adequate notice of its meetings, and make its records available, upon request, to the public. Adds to the material to be included in the health systems plan (HSP) of an HSA a description of specified institutional and non-institutional health services and the extent to which facilities and equipment need to be modernized, converted to new uses, constructed, or acquired. Requires that the State health plan prepared by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) contain similar information and be coordinated with State health plans developed pursuant to certain other Federal laws. Requires certificate of need decisions to be consistent with the State health plan, except in emergency circumstances posing a threat to public health. Requires that the State health plan prepared by the SHCC have the concurrence of the Governor. Prohibits the Secretary from making any grant to a State health planning and development agency (State Agency) which does not have a State health plan in effect. Applies procedures for public comment on proposed health systems plans (HSPs) of an HSA to the annual review and amendment of HSPS. Requires that the same such procedures be used with respect to the annual implementation plans (AIPs) which describe objectives and priorities in achieving HSP goals. Stipulates that HSPs shall: (1) include identifiable alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and mental health components; and (2) address specifically the needs of all medically underserved populations in the HSA. Eliminates the requirement that the HSP of an HSA be consistent with the national guidelines issued by the Secretary, but requires the HSA to submit to the State Agency, the SHCC, and the Secretary a detailed statement of reasons for any inconsistencies between its HSP and AIP and such guidelines. Directs, rather than allows, HSAs to provide technical assistance in obtaining and filling out necessary forms to applicants applying for projects to achieve the HSP. Allows grants made by an HSA for planning and developing projects to be used in a period succeeding that for which it was granted without being deducted from the subsequent grant award. Requires each HSA to coordinate its activities with entities which review rates and budgets of health care facilities in the health service area and with appropriate agencies on aging, local and regional alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and mental health planning agencies. Directs, rather than allows, the Secretary to provide technical assistance to entities which have the potential to become HSAs. Eliminates the provision giving priority for HSA designation to agencies and regional medical programs formerly authorized under certain other titles of the Public Health Service Act. Extends from one to three years the period of the designation and redesignation of an HSA. Revises the procedures for the designation and termination of health systems agencies, including requiring the Secretary to: (1) give priority to an application for HSA designation which has been recommended by the Governor or the Statewide Health Coordinating Council; (2) permit the appropriate State Agency and the SHCC to comment on the performance of an HSA before its designation is renewed; (3) consult with the Governor and the SHCC before terminating an HSA's designation. Authorizes the Secretary to terminate a designation agreement for an HSA whose performance is unsatisfactory. Increases the minimum planning grants to HSAs, and authorizes appropriations for such purpose. Extends eligibility for Federal matching of non-Federal contributions to minimally-funded HSAs. Extends from one to three years the period of the designation of a State health planning and development agency (State Agency). Authorizes the Secretary to terminate such designation (or return such Agency to a conditionally designated status for no more than one year), if the Secretary determines upon an appropriate review that such Agency's performance is unsatisfactory. Reduces by 25 percent per year for each year in which a State has not designated a State Agency, the amount of any allotment, grant, loan, or loan guarantee which has been committed to the State under this Act, the Community Mental Health Centers Act, or the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 for the development of health resources. Provides for judicial review of a final decision rendered by a State Agency under a certificate of need or appropriateness review, and requires affirmance of the State Agency's decision unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or was made not in conformity with applicable law. Requires a State Agency to provide technical assistance in obtaining and filling out the necessary forms to individuals and public and private entities for the development of projects and programs. Directs the appropriate authorities to prepare alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and mental health components to be included in the preliminary State health plan. Requires a State certificate of need program to: (1) be consistent with standards established by the Secretary by regulation; (2) provide for enforcement procedures and penalties; (3) provide for periodic review of certificates which have already been issued in order to monitor the progress of the service or facility; (4) provide for the withdrawal of any such certificate where substantial progress is not being made; and (5) provide for review and determination of need prior to the acquisition of diagnostic or therapeutic equipment under specified circumstances. Prohibits such program from reviewing and determining the need of health maintenance organization (HMO) services except for new institutional health services of hospitals controlled directly or indirectly by HMOs and diagnostic or therapeutic equipment of HMOs. Requires the issuance of certificates to be based solely on the record established in administrative and judicial proceedings. Directs the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) to establish in consultation with the health systems agencies (HSAs) and the State Agency a uniform format for health system plans (HSPs) and annual implementation plans (AIPs). Provides for ex officio representation of the Veterans' Administration on the SHCC when the State has at least one VA facility, instead of two facilities as currently provided. Requires members of the SHCC who are consumers to include individuals from rural and urban medical underserved populations which exist in the State. Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for grants to State health planning and development agencies. Extends authorization of appropriations for grants for State rate regulation experiments. Stipulates that an individual shall not be considered an indirect provider of health care (and for this reason a direct provider of health care under current law) solely because such person is a member of a governing board of an entity engaged in the provision of, or research or instruction in, health care, or in the production of drugs. Redefines "institutional health services" for purposes of title XV of the Public Health Service Act (National Health Planning and Development) to mean: (1) health services entailing annual operating costs of $50,000 or more which are provided through health care facilities as defined in regulations by the Secretary; and (2) diagnostic or therapeutic equipment valued in excess of $150,000 at time of acquisition and used in the delivery of health care services. Revises procedures and criteria for reviews, including reviews of certificate of need applications and appropriateness of services, by HSAs and State Agencies. Adds to the existing criteria the quality of care provided in the past by existing services or facilities, and the extent to which proposed services will be accessible to all the residents of the area to be served. Establishes criteria under which the certificate of need applications of HMOs are to be reviewed and approved. Extends and increases the authorization of appropriations for grants for planning and developing new centers for health planning. Directs the Secretary in reviewing an HSA and State Agency to consider the comments submitted by any interested person. Provides for Indian self-determination as related to health planning. Defines "health maintenance organization", "medical underserved population", and "rehabilitation facility" for purposes of this Act. Stipulates that the "healthful environment" which an HSA is directed in current law to describe in a detailed statement of goals means primarily with respect to health care equipment, and health services provided by health care institutions, facilities, and other providers and resources. Title II: Revision and Extension of Health Resources Development Authority - Amends title XVI of the Public Health Service Act (Health Resources Development) to require the Governor of a State, as well as the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC), to approve any State medical facilities plan. Provides that the Secretary make funds appropriated but unexpended for allotments in fiscal year 1976 available for special project grants for public hospitals with safety hazards or accreditation problems. Extends and increases the authorization of appropriations for project grants through fiscal year 1982. Extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for: (1) loan and loan guarantee fund providing loans for medical facilities; and (2) Area Health Services Development Funds (established to enable HSAs to make planning grants). Directs the Secretary to establish a program of financial assistance to encourage the voluntary consolidation of duplicative hospital services and the discontinuance of unneeded hospital inpatient services. Allows any hospital in operation on the date of enactment and which intends to: (1) discontinue providing inpatient health services; (2) discontinue an identifiable unit of the hospital which provides inpatient services; or (3) convert part of the hospital into providing ambulatory care services, long term care services, or any other service designated by the Secretary, to apply for a debt payment, an incentive payment, or a conversion payment, as appropriate. Specifies the authorized uses of the incentive payment. Specifies application procedures and formulas for determining the amounts of such payments. Directs a HSA and a State Agency, in determining the need for the service proposed to be discontinued under such program, to give special consideration to unmet needs and existing access patterns of urban or rural poverty populations. Requires the Secretary of Labor to certify that fair and equitable arrangements have been made to protect the interests of employees affected by the discontinuance of such services before payments can be made. Authorizes appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for the purpose of making payments under such program. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to study the first 25 applications for assistance under such program to determine their effect on the elimination of unneeded hospital services and to report the results of such study to Congress. Title III: Miscellaneous Amendments - Repeals title IX of the Public Health Service Act (Education, Research, Training, and Demonstrations in the Fields of Heart Disease, Cancer, Stroke, Kidney Disease, and Other Related Diseases).
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1979
Senior Citizens Health Insurance Reform Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to institute a program of voluntary certification for health insurance policies sold in supplementation of medicare. Sets forth minimum standards for such certification with respect to liability, cancellation, reasonableness of premium charge, and economic benefit to the insured. Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) misrepresentations in connection with such certification; (2) the sale of specified types of duplicate insurance; and (3) certain activities in connection with the sale of insurance policies in States which have not approved such policies.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Privacy Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to require medical service providers to permit individuals to inspect and copy their medical records. Provides for the correction of records at the individual's request. Prohibits disclosure of an individual's name or medical records without such individual's authorization. Permits disclosure of medical records without the individual's authorization in specified circumstances, including employee use, audit and evaluation, statutory requirements, law enforcement functions, parents of minors, health research, and judicial and administrative proceedings. Sets forth limits on disclosures in such circumstances. Authorizes governmental authorities to obtain medical records pursuant to a summons, subpoena, search warrant, or a written request. Requires the individual to be notified of such disclosure. Sets forth the procedure for an individual to challenge such a request. Permits the disclosure of medical records: (1) that are not individually identifiable; (2) in proceedings in which governmental authorities and the individual or medical service provider are parties; (3) in a General Accounting Office investigation of a governmental authority; (4) for intelligence purposes; or (5) in emergency situations. Requires the service provider to notify the individual when medical records are disclosed without such individual's authorization. Requires a warning against unauthorized disclosure to be placed on all written disclosures of medical information. Provides criminal and civil penalties for violations of the disclosure provisions. Stipulates limits on the use of medical information by grand juries. Requires annual reports by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to the appropriate committees of Congress concerning individual challenges of medical record disclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1979 - Amends the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972 to abolish the Office of Drug Abuse Policy and to direct the President, acting through the Domestic Council or through such other mechanism as may be set forth by Executive order, to establish a system for making recommendations with respect to policies for Federal drug abuse functions, and to coordinate the performance of such functions by Federal departments and agencies. Requires the President to designate a single officer or employee of the Domestic Council to be his representative on drug abuse functions and to direct the activities of drug abuse policy coordination. Requires State drug abuse plans to take into account changes in emphasis in its programs resulting from shifts in demographic and drug abuse patterns within the State, and to design such programs to reach the general population and members of particularly vulnerable groups such as minority and poverty groups, women, youth, and the aged. Requires coordination of each State and local drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation needs with its alcohol abuse and alcoholism survey. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, acting through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to develop a variety of model programs suitable for replication on a cost-effective basis in different types of business concerns and State and local governmental entities. Prohibits discrimination in admission or care against drug abusers suffering from personal, emotional, or social conditions, solely because of their drug abuse or drug dependence, by any private or public social service, mental health, intermediate care, rehabilitation, or other service-related facility which receives Federal financial support. Directs the Secretary, upon a State's request, to furnish technical assistance for developing and improving various program systems. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that appointed members of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse be selected from a range of professionals and paraprofessionals that includes officers or employees of State and local drug abuse agencies. Extends the authorization of necessary appropriations for formula grants and other specified drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation functions and activities through fiscal year 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to require that the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends the Social Security Act to stipulate that a Professional Standards Review Organization shall not be considered to be an agency of the Federal Government by reason of the functions performed by such organization under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for prescription drugs biologicals.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Drug Benefits for the Aged Act of 1979 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish a Drug Benefit Program for the Aged to pay for prescription drugs from participating pharmacies. Directs the Secretary, to establish a Drug Benefits List of prescription and nonlegend qualified drugs, limited to specified pharmacological therapeutic categories, which the Secretary deems appropriate for the treatment of conditions, illnesses, or injuries to the person or well-being of aged individuals. Specifies conditions under which participating pharmacies may substitute lower cost, therapeutic equivalents for prescribed drugs. Establishes a Drug Benefits Council to advise the Secretary on policy in general and the content and format of the drug benefits list in particular. Sets conditions for the participation of pharmacies in the program. Prescribes criminal penalties for fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Medicare Home Health Amendments of 1979 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the 100 visit limitation presently applicable to home health care services under such title. Includes "periodic chore services" within those home health services for which payment may be made under the supplementary medical insurance program (Part B of title XVIII). Eliminates the $60 deductible under the supplementary medical insurance program with respect to home health services. Includes services by a community mental health center among the benefits provided under the medicare program for up to: (1) 10 outpatient visits per year; and (2) 60 partial hospitalization visits per year. Stipulates that in determining the 190-day limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services under the Medicare program, one day shall be included for every four partial hospitalization visits to a community mental health center. Sets forth the conditions and limitations on payments for community mental health center services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends title III of the Public Health Service Act (General Powers and Duties of Public Health Service), as amended by the Health Services Extension Act of 1978, to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to State health authorities for preventive health service programs for the treatment of hypertension.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment under the supplementary medical insurance program for preventive services furnished in the screening, testing, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals for hypertension.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for preventive examinations for hypertension and drugs for the treatment of hypertension.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1979
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to apply the adulteration and misbranding provisions of such Act to hair dyes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Military Health Care System Reform Act of 1979 - Directs the Secretary of Defense, in each geographic region, to appoint a civilian as the military health care administrator for such region to: (1) coordinate the budgeting, planning, programming, and evaluation of all activities of the military health care system within the region; (2) coordinate the allocation of all resources of such system in the region; and (3) designate a catchment area for each major medical facility in the region. Requires such administrators to consult with each other and with health systems agencies to coordinate common health planning and resource allocation in the area. Stipulates that each member of the armed forces who is on active duty and each member of a uniformed service on active duty (upon the member's request) shall be enrolled in the military health care system. Authorizes the enrollment of members or former members of the uniformed services who are entitled to retired or retainer pay and their dependents into such system. Entitles such individuals to medical or dental care at uniformed services medical facilities on a space or staff available basis except that no such enrollee may be denied or limited in treatment at a major military health care facility by reason of the lack of capability of the medical or dental staff at the facility. Directs the Secretary of Defense to issue identification cards to enrollees identifying: (1) the nature of that person's entitlement to medical or dental benefits; and (2) the catchment area of the major military health care facility in which that person resides. Directs each such major facility to establish a program to provide all primary care services for enrollees residing in the facility's catchment area and to provide or arrange for the provision of all other necessary medical or dental care that such a person may require. Sets forth requirements which the Secretary of Defense is to follow in developing the budgets for medical and dental care for each of the military departments. Directs the Secretary to take steps to enable military health care facilities to maximize the efficient training and use of physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and similar practitioners at such facilities. Authorizes the officer or surgeon in charge of a military health care facility to permit private practitioners to provide care for enrollees at such facility. Sets forth the method of paying private physicians performing such services. Entitles military medical professionals to special incentive payments. Stipulates that funds for such payments shall be taken from any budgetary excess of the major military health care facility to which the individual is assigned. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for assessing the performance of military medical professionals in controlling the cost of medical and dental care at the facility to which they are assigned. Directs the Secretary to provide for the recovery of payments for the provision of military medical or dental care from any third-party insurer of the individual receiving such care.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize payment to an individual entitled to hospital insurance benefits under the medicare program for emergency inpatient hospital services furnished outside the United States if such hospital was closer to, or substantially more accessible from, the place at which the emergency occurred than the nearest adequately equipped hospital within the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Pregnant Women's Assistance Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants for projects to counsel pregnant women on their legal rights, benefits, and services available for caring for the child.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1979
Title I: Nurse Training - Nurse Training Amendments of 1979 - Amends title VIII of the Public Health Service Act to extend the assistance program for nurse training and students, generally at current levels of authorization through fiscal year 1980. Increases and extends the authorization for special project grants and contracts for nurse training programs from $15,000,000 per fiscal year to $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1979 and 1980. Establishes a new assistance program for training nurse anesthetists. Authorizes appropriations of $2,000,000 for fiscal year 1979 and $3,000,000 for fiscal year 1980 for such purpose. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to: (1) arrange for the conduct of a study, either with the National Academy of Sciences (if such body agrees) or with another public or nonprofit private entity (if the Academy declines), to determine the need to continue a specific Federal assistance program for nursing education, taking into account specified factors; and (2) report to Congress on such study by October 1, 1979. Title II: Other Health Professions Programs - Amends title VII of the Public Health Service Act (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) to authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to increase the ceiling on federally insured loans in any academic year to a medical student in a school of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry from $10,000 to $15,000 upon a determination that educational costs require such increase. Increases the aggregate insured unpaid principal amount for all such insured loans made to any such borrower from $50,000 to $60,000. Authorizes the Secretary to defer the date used with respect to service requirements for National Health Service Corps scholarships for students of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry for a period longer than the current three-year limit for such deferment. Exempts a medical or osteopathic school participating in an area health education center program from the requirement that such school conduct a program for training physician assistants or nurse practitioners which emphasizes enrolling individuals from the area served by the center of the program, if another school participating in the same program meets such requirement. Increases from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 the sums which may be obligated for schools of medicine and other types of health care which are financially distressed or unaccredited, from the total authorizations for start-up assistance, financial distress training, and curriculum development of medical schools. Amends the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 to extend authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1981 for certain area health education programs which were funded under the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1979
Child Health Assurance Act of 1979 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require the State plan for medical assistance required by such title to provide for making medical assistance available to: (1) any individual who is under the age of 18 and, at the option of the State, to any individual over the age of 17 and under 21, if the individual is a member of a family eligible for aid under the program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children and does not exceed specified income standards; and (2) any woman for a period of her pregnancy and for 60 days following the termination of her pregnancy who on the basis of resources is eligible for aid under the program of Aid to Families with Dependent Children and whose income does not exceed specified standards. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to establish a national child health assurance program (CHAP) income standard for the purpose of establishing the eligibility of, and extent of medical assistance provided to, certain children and pregnant women. Sets the national CHAP income standard at two-thirds of the nonfarm income official poverty line. Defines the services to be made available to pregnant women and eligible individuals under age 21 pursuant to this Act. Requires each State plan for medical assistance under the Medicaid program to provide, in the case of any individual under 21 who has received a timely periodic child health assessment, all care and services available under such program and referral for care and services not available under Medicaid. Sets forth standards of the "child health assessment" required by this Act. States that the health care provider performing such assessment must agree to perform such basic diagnostic and treatment services as an assessment shows to be necessary, or to refer a beneficiary to an appropriate provider for such services, and to provide beneficiaries with routine dental care. Requires such a provider to be reasonably accessible on a continuing basis to beneficiaries whom it has assessed. Stipulates that for individuals under 21 who have received a timely health assessment no enrollment fee or charge for any service will be imposed. Provides for the payment of a percentage of the cost of a State child health assessment program by the Federal Government. Requires each State plan under the Medicaid program to develop a plan to implement a CHAP. Directs the Secretary to establish performance standards for CHAP's. Sets forth penalties for States which fail to comply with such standards. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on each State's CHAP. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the coordination of health care services to children under: (1) the CHAP program and under title XIX; and (2) title V (Maternal and Child Health and Crippled Children's Services) and title XIX of the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary: (1) to study and conduct demonstration projects in order to evaluate the participation of health care providers in CHAP's and methods of improving their level of participation in these programs; and (2) to develop and carry out experiments and demonstration projects designed to determine the effect of payment on a capitation basis for child health assessments and other services provided under CHAP's upon the level of participation and performance of such providers in these programs. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on such studies. Stipulates that certain individuals will remain eligible for Medicaid by disregarding specified involuntary increases in benefits, compensation, the pensions provided under specified Federal laws. Stipulates that certain individuals under the age of 21 shall remain eligible for Medicaid while inmates in certain juvenile institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Emergency Medical Services Systems Amendments of 1979 - Amends title VII (Health Research and Teaching Facilities and Training of Professional Health Personnel) and title XII (Emergency Medical Services Systems) of the Public Health Service Act to extend authorization of appropriations for assistance for: (1) emergency medical service systems (including grants for planning, initial operation, and expansion and improvement) in the following amounts: $40,000,000 for fiscal year 1980, $43,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, and $46,000,000 for fiscal year 1982; (2) research in emergency medical services in the following amounts: $3,200,000 for fiscal year 1980, $3,500,000 for fiscal year 1981, and $3,800,000 for fiscal year 1982; (3) programs relating to burn injuries in the amount of $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1980 through 1982; and (4) training in emergency medical services in the amount of $10,000,000 (the current level) for each of fiscal years 1980 through 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Medicare Home Health Amendments of 1979 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the 100 visit limitation presently applicable to home health services under such title. Includes occupational therapy as a home health service. Permits a physician's assistant or nurse practitioner, who is supervised by a physician, to establish a plan of care for a home health patient living in a rural area. Eliminates prior hospitalization as a condition for receiving home health services. Requires home health aides to complete a training program developed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Requires each home health agency to submit a bimonthly bill which lists all services provided each individual receiving services from such agency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate regional agencies to monitor home health agency costs; (2) establish guidelines to be used in determining the reasonable cost of home health services; (3) monitor the costs of home health services; (4) report to Congress on the frequency of use of home health services by individuals eligible for Medicare benefits; and (5) establish demonstration projects to test the effectiveness of agency or multiagency utilization review committees in ensuring the medical necessity, cost efficiency, and appropriate use of home health services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Consumer-Patient Radiation Health and Safety Act of 1979 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate: (1) Federal radiation guidance with respect to consumer-patient radiation matters directly or indirectly affecting public health; (2) guidelines regarding medical and dental exposure to consumer-patients; and (3) criteria and guidelines with respect to: (A) the application of diagnostic X-rays to consumer-patients; and (B) the therapeutic application of radiation to consumer-patients; and (C) the application of radiation to consumer-patients in the treatment of disease. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to promulgate voluntary minimum standards for: (1) the accreditation of educational institutions conducting education programs in radiologic services; and (2) the licensure of radiologic technologists. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to States in establishing programs to achieve the purposes of this Act. Stipulates that such assistance shall include model laws and may include educational curriculum and teaching aids. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to educational programs accredited under this Act, States, professional organizations, and State radiation protection agencies to carry out the purposes of this Act. Provides for Federal agency compliance with standards promulgated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to eliminate all age restrictions presently applicable to individuals applying for inpatient psychiatric hospital service benefits under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year, until October 1, 1979, the period of time during which the services of physicians in teaching hospitals will be included as inpatient hospital services under that title.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for nutritional counseling as part of the home health services provided under the supplementary medical insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include services by a community mental health center among the benefits provided under such title for up to: (1) 25 outpatient visits per year; and (2) 60 partial hospitalization visits per year. Stipulates that in determining the 190-day limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services under the Medicare program, one day shall be included for every three partial hospitalization visits to a community mental health center. Sets forth the conditions and limitations on payments for community mental health center services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage under the Medicare program for: (1) all services performed by a dentist which would be covered if performed by a physician; and (2) inpatient hospital services furnished because of the security of the dental procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Diabetes Research and Training Amendments and National Diabetes Advisory Board Extension Act of 1979 - Amends title IV of the Public Health Service Act (National Research Institutes) to redesignate the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, and Digestive Diseases and the Advisory Council to such Institute as the National Institute of Arthritis, Metabolism, Diabetes, and Digestive Diseases and the National Arthritis, Metabolism, Diabetes, and Digestive Diseases Advisory Council. Establishes within the Advisory Council separate subcommittees on diabetes, arthritis, digestive diseases, and kidney diseases. Directs these subcommittees to: (1) review applications made to the Director of the Institute for research projects relating to such diseases and make recommendations to the Advisory Council; and (2) review and evaluate programs directed at such diseases. Establishes within the Institute the position of Associate Director for Diabetes. Sets forth the duties of the Associate Director, including: (1) having primary responsibility for all diabetes-mellitus-related activities supported or conducted by the National Institutes of Health; (2) providing information to public and private agencies with respect to such activities; and (3) reporting and making recommendations to the Director of the National Institutes of Health with respect to other enumerated functions. Extends the authorization of appropriations for diabetes research and training centers in the following amounts: $14,000,000 for fiscal year 1981, $17,000,000 for fiscal year 1982, and $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1983 through 1985. Directs the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to provide from such amounts up to ten training stipends through each center in any fiscal year. Eliminates as an ex officio member of the National Diabetes Advisory Board the Secretary of Defense or his designee; and adds as such a member the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or his designee. Revises the terms of appointed members of the Board. Directs the Board to amend the Diabetes Plan (formulated by the National Commission on Diabetes under the National Diabetes Mellitus Research and Education Act) as is necessary to insure its continuing relevance. Extends the current level of authorizations for the purposes of the Board ($300,000 per fiscal year) through fiscal year 1985. Extends the expiration date of the Board from September 30, 1980, to September 30. 1985.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that skilled nursing facilities be adequately equipped with wheelchairs and other appropriate equipment and supplies.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1979
Community Mental Health Assistance Act of 1979 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include among the services provided under such title: (1) outpatient services by community mental health centers for up to 25 visits per year; and (2) partial hospitalization services by a community mental health center for up to 60 visits per year. Stipulates that the 190 days of inpatient psychiatric hospital services to which an individual is entitled under title XVIII during a lifetime shall be reduced by one day for every three partial hospitalization visits to a community mental health center. Sets forth the conditions of and limitations on payments for community mental health center services, including criteria for utilization review plans of community mental health centers and transfer agreements between hospitals and community mental health centers. Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to include among the benefits which may be provided under such Act partial hospitalization services and outpatient services furnished by a community mental health center.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1979 - Amends the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevent, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 to provide that the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall consult with the Executive Director of the Domestic Council before appointing the Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Allows the Director of the NIAAA, when authorized by the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, to obtain the services of up to 100 experts or consultants who have scientific or professional qualifications. Redesignates the Interagency Committee on Federal Activities for Alcohol Abuse as the Interdepartmental Committee on Federal Activities for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Directs such Committee, in addition to the functions required by current law, to monitor, in cooperation with the Institute, the establishment and operation of occupational alcoholism and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment programs among Federal contractors. Stipulates that the Committee membership of specified Federal departments, as provided by current law, shall include representation with policy level authority. Directs the Committee to report biennially on Federal activities relating to the problems of alcohol and the prevalence of occupational programs among Federal contractors. Directs the Secretary to establish an Intradepartmental Committee on Departmental Activities on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to evaluate departmental policies, programs, and activities related to alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Makes Federal civilian employees' families eligible for alcoholism programs and services developed by the Office of Personnel Management. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Institute, to develop a variety of model occupational programs for replication in different types of business concerns and State and local government entities. Extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for Federal assistance for State and local programs dealing with alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Directs the Secretary, on the request of any State, to provide technical assistance for specified purposes, including systems of data collection, program management, accountability, and evaluation, and accreditation of treatment facilities and personnel. Makes certain revisions with respect to the State Plans which are required for participation in the Federal assistance program, including that such a Plan provides assurance that the State agency will develop occupational programs, and that the State evaluate other programs within the State which deal with alcohol-related problems. Extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for Federal assistance to States under the Uniform Alcoholism and Intoxication Treatment Act. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct demonstration and evaluation projects, with a high priority on prevention and early intervention projects in occupational and educational settings and on modified community living and workcare arrangements. Extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for project grants and contracts, but stipulates that at least eight percent of such sums must go to preventive programs. Establishes a new grant program for demonstration and implementation of insurance regulations to treat alcoholism and alcohol abuse equivalently with other chronic health conditions. Prohibits discrimination against alcoholic abusers and alcoholics, solely because of their alcohol abuse or alcoholism, by any service-related facility which receives Federal funds. Includes within the program of research which the Secretary is directed to carry out under current law, the social causes of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Stipulates that grants for research projects are to be made with particular emphasis on the relationship between alcohol abuse and domestic violence, the effects of alcohol during pregnancy, and the relationship between the abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 1982 for research related to the problems of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Makes certain revisions with respect to the National Alcohol Research Centers, including: (1) the extension of research to biomedical, behavioral, and social issues related to alcoholism; (2) the requirement that Centers have the capacity to conduct courses for nursing, social work, and other specialized graduate students, and programs of continuing education; and (3) the stipulation that the Secretary not designate new Centers if such designation will dilute the funding of existing Centers. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such Centers through fiscal year 1982.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Provides that certain persons who served in allied forces during World War I or World War II must be permanent United States residents in order to receive specified veterans' health and medical benefits (presently such persons must have been U.S. citizens for at least ten years). Enlarges the category of such allied forces to include the armed forces of Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Limits the requirement of providing a French or British certification of military service to those persons who served in the Polish or Czechoslovakian armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for certain clinical psychologists' services under the supplemental medical insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Relieves hospitals and health-care facilities in Health, Education, and Welfare Department Region IV of Medicare payments made in adherence with a policy issued and later reversed by the Atlantic Regional Office of the Bureau of Health Insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Title I: Meat Labeling and Inspection - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the labeling as imported of any imported meat or meat product which is capable of use as human food, or its container. Requires that such product: (1) meet the same health standards as domestically produced products; and (2) be tested in the exporting country. Requires periodic tests of such products in the United States by the Department of Agriculture as well. Requires certain eating establishments serving imported meat to inform customers of this fact.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1979
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment for certain clinical psychologists' services under the supplemental medical insurance program.