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401 records in US in 1989
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from imposing charges for outpatient medical or dental care provided at any military health care facility.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1989
Designates the decade beginning January 1, 1990, as the Decade of the Brain.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Sole Community Hospital Preservation Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to treat a hospital as a sole community hospital for Medicare payment purposes if it is located: (1) more than 35 miles from other hospitals furnishing short-term, acute care; (2) 15 to 35 miles from other hospitals furnishing short-term, acute care and not more than 50 percent of part A (Hospital Insurance) Medicare beneficiaries in such hospital's service area are admitted to other hospitals within 35 miles of such hospital or, if larger, within such hospital's service area; or (3) 15 to 35 miles from other hospitals furnishing short-term, acute care, if such other hospitals are inaccessible for at least one month each year due to local topography or severe weather conditions. Maintains a sole community hospital classification until there is a change in the circumstances giving rise to such classification or the hospital requests a cancellation of such classification. Requires that Medicare payments to sole community hospitals cover the reasonable operating costs of inpatient hospital services provided by such hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Medicare Adult Day Health Care Amendments of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment of adult day health care programs providing certain medically supervised health services furnished by an adult day health care center in an ambulatory group care setting on a less than 24-hour basis to individuals who are 18 years of age or older and: (1) have a medical or mental impairment that, but for the provision of adult day health care, would require the provision of care in a hospital or in a skilled nursing or intermediate care facility; or (2) cannot perform on a daily basis certain activities of daily living. Sets forth standards for such a center. Sets forth matters which, as a condition of payment, must be certified by an existing State program which determines eligibility under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or by a State-administered preadmission screening program meeting certain minimum requirements. Makes deductibles inapplicable to adult day health care, requiring only the payment of a specified coinsurance amount. Provides for the evaluation of plans of correction submitted by centers found not to meet the conditions of participation and for sanctions against such centers, in lieu of cancellation of certification, including civil fines and suspensions of payments. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations regarding adult day health care programs. Requires the Secretary to adopt the standards established by the National Institute of Adult Day Care as the minimum standards for qualifying as a provider of such care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Immigration Exclusion and Deportation Amendments of 1989 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make only the following classes of aliens ineligible to receive visas for admission into the United States: (1) any alien with a communicable disease of public health significance; (2) any alien with a record of recent physical or mental disorder that poses a threat to property or safety; (3) any alien with a drug addiction; (4) any alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, with specified exceptions; (5) any alien convicted of specified drug violations or involved in drug trafficking; (6) any alien who has engaged in prostitution, or procurement of prostitutes, within ten years of the date of application for U.S. entry; (7) any alien likely to be a security risk; (8) any alien who has engaged in terrorist activity or likely to engage in such activity; (9) any alien whose entry would endanger the lives or property of U.S. citizens living abroad; (10) any alien whose entry would convey the impression of U.S. support for a government or group that the United States does not recognize or support, or whose entry would have a serious negative effect on U.S. diplomatic relations; (11) any alien who participated in Nazi persecutions; (12) any alien who is likely to become a public charge, with admission on bond at the discretion of the Attorney General; (13) any alien seeking to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor, with specified exceptions (teaching, postgraduate research, and science or arts), or in situations of insufficient U.S. workers; (14) any alien who is a graduate of a medical school not accredited by a body approved for such purpose by the Secretary of Education, with certain exceptions; (15) any excluded or deported alien who seeks readmission within five years of the event, unless such readmission is consented to by the Attorney General; (16) any alien seeking to enter the United States by fraud or the willful misrepresentation of a material fact; (17) any stowaway alien; (18) any alien who aids any other alien in illegal entry; (19) any immigrant not in possession of a valid immigrant visa and passport at the time of admission; (20) any nonimmigrant without a valid passport authorizing the alien to return to the country from which he or she came or without a valid nonimmigrant visa or border crossing card (provides for a Guam visa waiver for up to 15-day pleasure or business entries); and (21) any alien ineligible for U.S. citizenship, including a person who left or remained outside the United States to avoid U.S. military service in time of war or national emergency. Repeals the ideological grounds for exclusion. Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to jointly develop guidelines for the review of exclusion lists and other mechanisms used to screen alien visa applicants. Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary to report jointly to the appropriate committees regarding the development of such guidelines (within one year) and the results of the review of such alien lists (within two years). Makes deportable by the Attorney General only those aliens within one of the following classes: (1) any alien who at the time of entry was within one or more of the classes of aliens excludable by then existing law; (2) any alien entering the United States without inspection or at a time and place other than as designated by the Attorney General; (3) any alien admitted as a nonimmigrant who has failed to maintain such status; (4) any alien admitted as a temporary agricultural worker (H-2A visa) whose status has been terminated (with family hardship exceptions); (5) any alien who within five years of entry knowingly and for gain has aided another alien to illegally enter the United States; (6) any alien admitted as an additional special agricultural worker who fails to show the necessary number of seasonal work days; (7) any alien who gained U.S. entry through marriage fraud; (8) any alien convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years from the date of entry and who is either sentenced or confined for a term of one year or longer; (9) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude; (10) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted of a violation of certain drug laws; (11) any alien who is a drug abuser or addict; (12) any alien who at any time after entry is convicted under weapons-possession laws; (13) any alien who at any time is convicted on any of various specified loyalty laws (e.g. sabotage, treason and sedition, selective service, etc.); (14) any alien who fails to comply with alien registration laws or foreign agent registration laws; (15) any alien convicted of fraud or misuse of visas or other entry documents; (16) any alien engaging in activity which endangers the public safety or national security, including terrorist activity; (17) any alien who within five years after entry has become a public charge; (18) any alien who participated in Nazi persecutions; (19) any alien whose presence could endanger the lives or property of U.S. citizens living abroad; or (20) any alien whose presence could convey the impression of U.S. support for a government or group that the United States does not recognize or support, or whose presence could have a serious negative effect on U.S. diplomatic relations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1989
Long-Term Care Insurance Standards Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a procedure whereby long-term care insurance policies may be certified as meeting minimum standards and requirements set forth in this Act. Allows the certification to remain in effect if the insurer files a notarized statement annually with the Secretary stating that the policy continues to meet the standards and requirements. Authorizes printing of an emblem designed by the Secretary on certified policies. Deems any long-term care insurance policy issued in any State, if the Long-Term Care Insurance Panel determines that the State has requirements equal to or more stringent than those in this Act, to meet the standards and requirements of this Act, provided that, if required by State law, each advertisement for the policy is submitted before its use to the State insurance commissioner for approval. Establishes the Long-Term Care Insurance Panel. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements a policy must meet in order to be certified, including meeting standards reprinted in December 1988 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Sets forth criminal penalties for certain acts, including: (1) misrepresentations; and (2) knowingly mailing an advertisement or a policy in or into a State in which the policy has not been approved by the State insurance commissioner. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the right of any State to regulate long-term care insurance policies that, under this Act, are considered to be issued in another State.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require States to provide Medicaid coverage of hospice care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish a national median prevailing charge level for each of the 100 physician services performed in 1988 for which the greatest number of recognized charges were submitted. Prohibits an increase in the prevailing charge level for such a service on the basis of an increase in the medical economic index to the extent such increase would result in such level exceeding the national prevailing charge level for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to treat mechanical ventilators as covered prosthetic devices.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Caribbean Regional Development Act of 1989 - Declares it to be the policy of the United States in providing development and other economic assistance to the Caribbean to: (1) help the poor to participate in the development of their societies; (2) support development that is environmentally sustainable; (3) promote Caribbean self-reliance; (4) increase food security; (5) promote the diversification of industrial and agricultural production; (6) advance the process of regional economic integration; (7) support national programs of economic adjustment that promote the policies of this Act; (8) support employment generation while avoiding the displacement of traditional lines of small-scale production; (9) preserve and reinforce traditional Caribbean culture and social values; (10) consult with the intended beneficiaries of U.S. economic assistance; and (11) sustain the policies set forth in this Act, with adequate funding, for a minimum of ten years. Requires that priority in providing development assistance to the Caribbean shall be given to supporting indigenous Caribbean institutions (including farmers' unions, cooperatives, trade unions and other labor organizations, women's groups, and community organizations) that represent, work with, and benefit the poor. States that for purposes of determining the eligibility of any Caribbean country for development assistance, the per capita income of that country shall be deemed to be no greater than the per capita income for the Caribbean as a whole. Specifies that Economic Support Fund assistance (ESF) shall be used for assistance for those nations in the Caribbean that are experiencing a scarcity of foreign exchange. Provides that to the extent that such assistance is used to finance commodity imports, priority in the use of such assistance shall be given to the purchase of: (1) critical commodity imports by small- and medium-sized industries, farms, and cooperatives that have limited access to foreign exchange; and (2) key consumer goods in critically short supply. Provides that preference in the purchase of commodity imports purchased with ESF funds or with local currencies shall be given to commodities within the Caribbean region. Specifies that in providing assistance to the Caribbean area priority in the allocation of funds provided for development assistance and through the ESF and in the allocation of local currencies shall be given to: (1) food self-sufficiency; (2) integrated rural development; (3) community-based agro-industries; (4) financial resources for small- and medium-sized farm and manufacturing enterprises; (5) expansion of tourism; (6) regional integration; (7) upgrading technical and managerial skills; (8) enhancing the natural resource base; and (9) private sector development. Prohibits the provision of any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (except for international narcotics control assistance) for: (1) any government of any country in the Caribbean that does not enforce internationally recognized worker rights; and (2) a Caribbean country if the provision of that assistance would be inconsistent with promoting respect for international recognized worker rights. Authorizes such assistance if that government is taking steps to implement laws that demonstrate significant advancement in providing internationally recognized worker rights throughout the country. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs requesting that such assistance be terminated. Sets forth procedures for the Assistant Secretary to follow in making a determination of such request. Prohibits the Agency for International Development (AID) from providing any assistance, directly or indirectly, for the use of any chemical or other substance in the Caribbean if such use; (1) is not permitted under the public health laws of that nation; or (2) would not be permitted in the United States under U.S. public health laws. Specifies that in the provision of development assistance to the Caribbean, AID shall place emphasis on ensuring the active participation of Caribbean women in the development process. Requires AID to: (1) consult with Caribbean organizations that work with the poor in all stages of the design and implementation of assistance policies; and (2) monitor socioeconomic conditions in the Caribbean and the effect of economic assistance programs and policies on those conditions. Requires the Office of Technology Assessment to conduct an evaluation of and report to the Congress on the performance of AID in carrying out this Act. Requires the Administrator of AID to report annually to the Congress concerning AID's efforts to implement the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1989
Medical Rural Reform Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to permit small rural hospitals and declining-volume rural hospitals to elect to be paid for inpatient hospital services on the basis of prospective rates. Limits the application of such payment methodology in the case of small rural hospitals to the first four cost-reporting periods succeeding such election. Permits hospitals to classify an inpatient hospital discharge by the diagnosis-related group (DRG) which is applicable at the time of admission or by the DRG which is applicable thereafter. Amends part A (Hospital Insurance) of the Medicare program to eliminate the requirement that part A providers be paid the lesser of the reasonable cost of such services or the customary charges for such services. Eliminates the reduction of reasonable cost reimbursement by costs determined to be unnecessary in the efficient delivery of health services. Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to conduct a study and report to the Congress within three years of this Act's enactment on the effectiveness of the various methods under which rural hospitals are paid for Medicare inpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Rural Enterprise Zone Act of 1989 - Title I: Designation of Enterprise Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate rural enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits to 100 the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every four years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Title II: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Subtitle A: Credits for Employers and Employees - Allows employers located in enterprise zones a nonrefundable income tax credit for qualified increased employment expenditures and employment of the disadvantaged. Sets the credit amount at ten percent of the increase in payroll plus a specified percentage of wages paid to certain disadvantaged workers through the first 20 years of the enterprise zone designation. Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of wages earned. Phases out both credits in the last four years of the enterprise zone designation. Subtitle B: Credits for Investment in Tangible Property in Enterprise Zones - Allows businesses an additional investment tax credit for investments made in certain enterprise zone construction property. Limits the credit to ten percent for new property, including rental property. Requires the recapture of credit amounts upon the early disposition of the property. Subtitle C: Nonrecognition of Qualified Enterprise Zone Capital Gain Where Acquisition of Enterprise Zone Business Property - Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property if, within one year after the sale, the taxpayer acquires qualified replacement property (generally defined as property related to an enterprise zone or to a business within a zone). Subtitle D: Deduction for Purchase of Enterprise Stock - Allows a taxpayer to deduct up to $100,000 of the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Subtitle E: Rules Relating to Industrial Development Bonds - Declares that: (1) limitations on the cost recovery deductions for property financed with tax-exempt bonds shall not apply to enterprise zone property; and (2) the termination of the small issue exemption shall not apply to bonds whose proceeds are used to finance facilities in enterprise zones. Requires that five percent of the private activity bond volume cap for a State that has one or more enterprise zones be set aside exclusively for use in such zones. Subtitle F: Ordinary Loss Deduction for Securities of Enterprise Zone Business Which Become Worthless - Permits an ordinary loss deduction for securities of enterprise zone business that become worthless during the taxable year. Subtitle G: Increase in Research Credit for Research Conducted in Enterprise Zones - Increases from 20 percent to 30 percent the tax credit for increasing research conducted in enterprise zones. Applies this subtitle retroactively to taxable years 1987 and thereafter. Subtitle H: Sense of the Congress with Respect to Tax Simplification - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should simplify the administration and enforcement of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code affected by this Act. Subtitle I: Regulations - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act not later than six months after enactment. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to promote the coordination of all enterprise zone programs and to consolidate all periodic reports required under such programs into one summary report. Title IV: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis and to expedite the processing of applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Title V: Enterprise Zone Business Incubator Program - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a business incubator program to provide loans and grants to State and local governments to give start-up assistance to small businesses in distressed rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a Senior Biomedical Scientific Service Corps within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whose members: (1) shall be appointed based solely on the basis of distinction and achievement in the field of biomedical, clinical, or behavioral research; and (2) shall not be a part of the competitive service. Treats continuous employment in the Corps immediately upon termination of service as a commissioned officer in the Public Health Service (PHS) Corps as service in the PHS Corps for purposes of retirement or separation for physical disability. Specifies that such employment shall not be considered as service under any other Federal retirement system. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, any public or nonprofit academic institution, to train individuals in the field of regulatory review medicine and to provide financial aid to participants in such programs. Requires each individual who receives grant funds to serve a specified obligated period of time as an FDA employee. States that if any such individual fails to comply within a reasonable period of time after the completion of training (as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation), the United States shall be entitled to recover from such individual an amount determined in accordance with a formula to be prescribed through regulations issued by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations as necessary for FY 1990 through 1992 for such grants. Directs the Secretary to establish a Science Training Loan Repayment Program to repay the educational loans of students and graduates who agree to accept employment with the FDA for a period of obligated service. Establishes eligibility requirements for participation in the Program. Directs the Secretary to give priority to applications made by individuals: (1) who have training in regulatory review medicine and in a health profession or speciality determined by the Secretary to be needed by the FDA; and (2) who are committed to service with the FDA. Specifies that: (1) a loan repayment provided for an individual under a written contract under the Program shall consist of payment of the principal, interest, and related expenses on government and commercial loans received by the individual for tuition, reasonable educational expenses (such as fees, books, and laboratory expenses), and reasonable living expenses as determined by the Secretary; (2) for each year of obligated service that an individual contracts to serve, the Secretary may pay up to $20,000 on behalf of such individual for loans; and (3) any arrangement made by the Secretary for making loan repayments under this Act shall provide that repayments for a year of obligated service shall be made by the end of the fiscal year in which the individual completes such year of service. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) on the request of the individual, to make payments to such individual in a reasonable amount, as determined by the Secretary, to reimburse such individual for all or part of any increased tax liability incurred as a result of participation in the Program; and (2) to enter into an agreement with the holder of any loan for which payments are made under the Program to establish a schedule for the making of payments. Provides that individuals who have entered into such contracts with the Secretary, while undergoing academic or other training, shall not be counted against any employment ceiling affecting the Department. Requires each individual who has entered into a written contract with the Secretary to provide service as a full-time employee of the FDA for the period of obligated service provided in such contract. Establishes procedures for: (1) determining if the individual shall provide such service as a member of the Commissioned Corps of the PHS or as a civilian employee of the United States; and (2) notifying such individual. Specifies that an individual shall be considered to have begun serving a period of obligated service on the date of appointment. Sets forth a formula for calculating penalties applicable to an individual who breaches such contract by failing to begin or complete such service obligation. Provides for: (1) the waiver or suspension of service or payment obligations in cases of impossibility or extreme hardship; and (2) release of obligations for payment of damages by discharge in bankruptcy under specified circumstances. Authorizes the Secretary to pay an individual who has entered into such an agreement an amount to cover all or part of the individual's expenses reasonably incurred in transporting himself, his family, and his possessions to the location of his duty station. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as necessary for FY 1990 through 1992. Establishes the Food and Drug Administration Distinguished Services Science Award to be given to dedicated scientists employed by the FDA who have: (1) expeditiously approved lifesaving products; or (2) discovered other ways to protect society from unforeseen health hazards.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Patient Identifying Information Confidentiality Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, before disclosing to the Congress any medical record acquired or created by the Public Health Service, to delete identifying information in the record, unless the individual identified gives written consent. Directs the Secretary, for the purposes of cross-referencing the medical records pertaining to a particular individual, to establish by rule a system by which such records may be identified without using identifying information.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1989
Designates May 1989 as National Digestive Disease Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover services performed by a physician assistant regardless of the setting or geographical location in which such services are rendered.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Designates May 1989 as National Trauma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover services performed by a physician assistant regardless of the setting or geographical location in which such services are rendered.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Older Americans Alternative Care Act of 1989 - Title I: Medicare Amendments - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include periodic chore and respite care services as home health services. Permits home health services to be provided in an adult day care center. Title II: Senior Companion Program - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act to authorize the Director of the Action Agency to make grants or contracts under the National Older Americans Volunteer Program to establish senior companion programs. Authorizes increased appropriations for such programs through FY 1991. Title III: Income Tax Credit for Maintaining Households Which Include Dependents Who Have Attained Age 65 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize an income tax credit for an individual who maintains in his or her home a household for a dependent over age 65.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover social worker services furnished to outpatients of rural health clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay additional amounts to Medicare-dependent, small, rural hospitals to ensure that their reasonable operating costs for inpatient hospital services are covered. Makes the classification of a rural hospital as a rural referral center permanent. Treats any hospital which is the sole source of inpatient hospital services in a county or parish having no more than 10,000 inhabitants as a sole community hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Nursing Shortage and Nurse Reimbursement Incentive Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide direct Medicare reimbursement for nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not the practitioner or specialist is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's service. Provides payments for nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, and certified nurse midwife services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program on the basis of a fee schedule to be established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to establish a toll-free telephone hotline for nursing payment inquiries under the Medicare program and, to the extent feasible, under the Medicaid program. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review of nursing services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract for studies evaluating nursing costs, and gathering and disseminating data on obstacles nurses face in receiving direct reimbursement for their services; and (2) report the results of such studies to the Congress in January of 1992, 1993, and 1994. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Act to require direct Medicaid reimbursement for certified nurse midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not such nurse is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health care provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's services. Requires that such payments be equal to payments for such services under the Medicare program and not vary on the basis of the type of nurse involved.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1989
Designates the week beginning on October 1, 1989, and ending October 7, 1989, as Mental Illness Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood Act of 1989 - Replaces title XX (Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Projects) of the Public Health Service Act with a new title on services for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants and enter into contracts to provide authorized services to certain pregnant adolescents, adolescent mothers, and the qualified relations of such adolescents. Includes among authorized services: (1) comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care; (2) well-baby and well-child care; (3) family planning methods and services; (4) family life and parenting education; (5) education and referral regarding sexually transmitted diseases; (6) counseling and referral; (7) aid in obtaining health, mental health, and social services; and (8) other appropriate services. Sets forth priorities in making the grants and contracts. Requires that applicants for the grants and contracts agree to: (1) give priority to the provision of services to low income individuals and others who have limited access to such services; (2) not require an individual to accept authorized services as a prerequisite to other services or assistance; (3) provide services only on a voluntary basis and only after advising of the benefits and risks of each of the options available; (4) encourage the individual, to the extent practicable, to seek the assistance of the individual's family, and (5) encourage community involvement in the planning and implementation of the program. Requires that charges imposed by the applicant, if any: (1) be made according to a public schedule; (2) not be imposed on individuals below the poverty line; and (3) be adjusted to reflect the income of the individual. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1989
Fair Physician Reciprocity Standards Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit State physician licensure reciprocity standards from discriminating against foreign medical graduates. Authorizes States to require foreign medical graduates to have more years of accredited graduate medical education than licensed physicians who are not foreign medical graduates, provided such required accredited graduate medical education does not exceed three years.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Catastrophic Coverage Delay Act of 1989 - Delays, for two years, the implementation of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988. Establishes the Commission to Review the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 to assess the health care needs of the elderly relating to catastrophic illness and report to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, on a method of providing extended acute care coverage to Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries which provides a role for private insurance and minimizes duplicate coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Health Care for Children Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to phase-in, by FY 1994, the mandatory Medicaid coverage of children whose family income is below the Federal poverty level. Eliminates the Medicaid resource eligibility test for poor pregnant women and children. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid assistance to children during a presumptive eligibility period which begins when a provider makes a preliminary determination that the income eligibility test has been met and ends, at the latest, 45 days after such preliminary determination. Requires children to apply for such assistance within 14 days of such preliminary determination. Requires that Medicaid reimbursements be sufficient to enlist enough providers so that care and services are available under the Medicaid program at least to the extent that such care and services are available to the general population. Requires States to annually submit: (1) their payment rates for Medicaid care to pregnant women and children for the Secretary of Health and Human Services' approval; and (2) other specified data to assist the Secretary in evaluating the adequacy of Medicaid payments for such services. Authorizes States to continue Medicaid coverage of pregnant women and children for one year after a change in their family income would otherwise render them ineligible for such coverage. Requires States to provide such continued coverage to pregnant women through the month in which the 60-day period following their pregnancy expires.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to determine the payments to be made to hospitals under Medicare's prospective payment system on the basis of a blend of hospital-specific rates and a national rate, depending on the degree to which costs vary within specific diagnosis-related groups. Eliminates the urban or rural classification of an area as a consideration in hospital payment determinations. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) identify relevant labor markets for hospitals; (2) establish a methodology to determine the proportion of hospital costs which are wage-related and compare the hospital wage level in each labor market with the national average hospital wage level; and (3) take into account differences among hospitals in part- and full-time employment patterns.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to cover outreach activities designed to identify Medicaid-eligible pregnant women and children and encourage and assist them in securing Medicaid benefits. Sets the Federal share of the costs of such activities at 75 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Designates the month of May 1989 as National Stroke Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Federal judicial code to make funds from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund available to assist the States in providing drug treatment programs and community- and school-based drug education programs. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to add parallel provisions with respect to the Customs Forfeiture Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Grants a Federal charter to the National Academies of Practice, the purpose of which is to honor persons of the health care professions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Health Care Savings Account Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employees and employers, including self-employed individuals, a 60 percent tax credit for contributions to a health care savings account for the benefit of the employee or self-employed individual. Limits total contributions to an account to the aggregate amount of hospital insurance tax paid with respect to the account beneficiary. Describes conditions that must be met by the account. Excludes from the gross income of the beneficiary any account contributions made by an employer. Exempts an account from taxation (except for the tax on unrelated business income of a charitable organization) unless the distributee engages in specified transactions in connection with it. Excludes from gross income any account distributions used to pay the eligible medical expenses of the beneficiary or qualifying spouse. Imposes a ten percent surtax on account distributions used for other than health care purposes or made before the distributee is aged 65 or older. Imposes penalty taxes in connection with: (1) excess contributions or prohibited transactions associated with an account; (2) distributions from an account that reduces a distributee's account level below a specified amount; and (3) failure to effect spousal rollover of an account upon the spouse's death. Imposes penalties for failure to make required reports concerning an account. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to reduce the Medicare benefits of a health care savings account beneficiary by 60 percent of the maximum amount of Medicare-related expenditures that could be reasonably underwritten (by an insurance company) for the average Medicare beneficiary, given certain assumptions. Establishes special rules for individuals who cannot obtain insurance to cover their added deductible at the standard premium rates. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish rules in connection with recalculations of deductibles when a qualifying spouse becomes eligible for Medicare. Establishes catastrophic health care expense protection for certain individuals who qualify for Medicare and have met specified contribution requirements with respect to one or more health care savings accounts. Describes conditions under which a qualifying spouse becomes eligible for this protection.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1989
Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) make grants to Native Hawaiian health centers for preventive health services and the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases; (2) provide technical assistance to such centers for research and training programs for the prevention of such diseases; (3) make grants to, and enter into contracts with, such centers for family planning projects; and (4) conduct and support by grant or contract health information programs in such centers. Includes Native Hawaiian health centers in the designation of medical facilities which may be considered health manpower shortage areas.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1989
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to pay for unreimbursed medical services and treatment for any physical illness suffered by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident directly attributable to the atomic explosions on Japan in August 1945. Limits such assistance to medical services provided in the United States on or after the date of enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1989
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to maintain the current distribution of additional payments (outlier payments) for inpatient hospital services between payments for extra lengthy stays and payments for extra costly stays for FY 1990 through 1993. Limits the degree of variation in such distribution to five percent for each succeeding fiscal year. Sets forth the formula for determining outlier payments for extra lengthy hospital stays.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Family Planning Reauthorization Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY 1990 through 1993 for projects, training, and information and materials related to family planning.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Ethics in Patient Referrals Act of 1989 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit a physician from referring a patient to an entity for Medicare-covered services or an entity from presenting a claim pursuant to such referral if the physician has a financial interest in, or receives compensation from, such entity. Sets forth exceptions to such prohibition. Imposes sanctions against persons who present claims for services prohibited by this Act and against physicians or entities that enter into arrangements for the purpose of prohibited referrals.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act of 1989 - States as the purpose of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) (a project authorized under the Department of Energy National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1980 as a research facility for demonstrating the safe disposal of radioactive waste) to receive, handle, and permanently dispose of defense transuranic waste. Sets forth the capacity of the WIPP. Declares that such waste shall be retrievable until the Secretary of Energy has complied with environmental standards for disposal of such waste established pursuant to this Act. Limits the type and amount of defense remote-handled transuranic waste that will be shipped to and handled by the WIPP. States that such plant is not designed for high-level radioactive waste. States that this Act shall be deemed to amend a specified provision of the Department of Energy National Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act of 1980. Applies this Act with respect to any items in conflict with the Agreement for Consultation and Cooperation entered into in accordance with this Act. Withdraws lands to be known as the WIPP in Eddy County, New Mexico, from all forms of entry and disposal under public land, mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing laws. Transfers such land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Energy. Provides that such withdrawal shall not take effect until: (1) the Final Safety Analysis Report prepared under Department of Energy (DOE) safety analysis procedures is submitted to specified parties for review; and (2) the Secretary of Energy notifies the Congress that he has approved the Report. Revokes specified public land orders made inconsistent by this Act. Describes the land to be so transferred. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, within 30 days after enactment of this Act, to: (1) publish notice in the Federal Register of the lands withdrawn and reserved pursuant to this Act; and (2) file copies of appropriate land maps and legal descriptions of such land with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, the Secretary of Energy, and the State of New Mexico. Provides a disclaimer of the United States to any water rights on the withdrawn land. Requires the Secretary to be responsible for the management of the withdrawn lands and to consult and cooperate with the State of New Mexico in discharging responsibilities required under this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop a management plan for the withdrawn lands, requiring any use of such lands to be subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be necessary to permit the use of such lands for WIPP activities. Provides that, in addition to other uses, the management plan shall provide for domestic livestock grazing, hunting and trapping, maintenance of wildlife habitat, and the disposal of salt tailings remaining on the surface, as well as mining. Authorizes the Secretary to close to the public any part of such withdrawn lands if required for public health and safety. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with: (1) the Secretary of the Interior and the State of New Mexico for the administration of grazing within the withdrawn lands; and (2) the State of New Mexico for the maintenance of the wildlife habitat of such lands. Directs the Secretary to submit the required management plan to the aforementioned congressional committees, as well as to the State of New Mexico. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with specified officials and agencies, to prepare a proposed experimental plan with respect to the WIPP. Requires the Secretary to submit such plan to the Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG), a scientific evaluation group for the WIPP to be established under this Act, and the State of New Mexico. Provides that within 60 days of receipt of such plan, the EEG or the State of New Mexico shall notify the Secretary of agreement or disagreement with the plan. Provides steps to be taken if the EEG or the State of New Mexico disagrees with such plan. Provides for ongoing review by the EEG and the State of New Mexico of all data, reports, and other material concerning the experimental program plan developed and implemented by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on such program no later than two years after such program begins. Requires the Secretary, with respect to the WIPP, to be in compliance with appropriate EPA standards of waste management and storage, as well as with transuranic waste disposal standards. Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of the EPA to submit to the Congress a statement of compliance, prior to the permanent disposal of such waste at the WIPP. Requires the Secretary to conduct an annual demonstration at the WIPP that all transuranic waste stored there can be readily retrieved. Outlines administrative procedures with respect to such annual demonstrations. Outlines procedures to be followed if it is found that the waste is not readily retrievable. Limits the amount of radioactive waste to be received by the WIPP before it has demonstrated compliance with all the applicable standards and retrievability safeguards. Provides that, if the Administrator finds that the environmental standards for disposal of transuranic wastes have not been complied with, the Secretary shall notify the Congress within 30 days and shall remove the waste as soon as possible, decommission the WIPP, terminate the land withdrawal provided for in this Act, and transfer such lands to the Secretary of the Interior for management by the Bureau of Land Management. Authorizes additional time for compliance with standards (not to exceed 12 months) as agreed to by the Governor of New Mexico and the Secretary. Requires the WIPP to use both engineered and natural barriers to isolate the transuranic waste after disposal to the extent required by the EPA. Directs the Administrator to: (1) promulgate in the Federal Register proposed environmental standards for disposal of transuranic wastes not later than 12 months after the enactment of this Act; and (2) issue in the Federal Register such standards no later than two years after the enactment of this Act. Prohibits any high-level radioactive waste from being brought to the WIPP for any purpose. Revokes the authority of the Secretary (as provided under prior Federal law) to conduct high-level radioactive waste experiments at the WIPP. Prohibits the transport of transuranic waste to the WIPP until: (1) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified a method of packaging for the transportation of such waste; and (2) the Secretary has fulfilled requirements of this Act with respect to the experimental program, has completed an environmental impact statement, and has approved a Final Safety Analysis Report for the WIPP. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to provide in-kind and cash assistance for emergency response-related activities to New Mexico and any other State or Indian tribe through whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to transport transuranic waste to or from the WIPP. Requires transuranic waste transported to or from the WIPP to be in packages that have been certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as safe for the transportation of such material. Directs the Secretary, prior to any such transportation, to properly notify State and local governments and Indian tribes. Provides certain priorities in shipping for transuranic waste currently stored at specified storage plants. Directs the Secretary, to the maximum extent practicable, to continue to encourage business and employment opportunities related to the WIPP that may be conducive to the State of New Mexico, especially Lea and Eddy Counties, and report annually thereon to the State of New Mexico. Requires the Secretary to enter into benefits agreements with the State of New Mexico to provide financial and technical assistance to the State to study and mitigate the impact of the WIPP on the State and local governments. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1994 for such assistance. Directs the Secretary to enter into negotiations relating to a certain mineral tract within the withdrawn lands. Authorizes appropriations to acquire such mineral interests. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to the State to prepare a report in conjunction with any such request. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary to provide a grant each fiscal year to the State of New Mexico and each unit of local government in which such withdrawn land is located for payments equivalent to the taxes that would be generated by WIPP activities on the withdrawn lands. Directs the Secretary, no later than five years after the enactment of this Act, to report to the appropriate congressional committees, the State of New Mexico, the Administrator, and the EEG a plan for managing the WIPP after decommissioning. Directs the Secretary, within the same time span, to publish in the Federal Register a plan for the management and use of the withdrawn lands following the decommissioning of the WIPP. Authorizes the Secretary to permanently dispose of transuranic waste at the WIPP when certain requirements of this Act have been fulfilled and the Administrator concurs that the Secretary has complied with EPA standards established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
National Rural Health Care Act of 1989 - Title I: Medicare Provisions - Directs the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to conduct studies and report to the Congress by January 1, 1991, on: (1) the relationship between costs for rural inpatient hospital services and Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) payments for such services; and (2) the Medicare program's role in paying for rural inpatient hospital services provided as a charity to persons who are not covered under the Medicare program. Provides funding for the development of medical care access facilities. Defines a "medical care access facility" as a facility which: (1) provides ambulatory, primary, emergency, urgent, and surgical care; (2) provides inpatient care for from one-to-ten inpatient beds for stays not exceeding 48 hours; and (3) is located in a medically underserved area or a county with a population of less than 20,000, or serves a frontier service area. Provides Medicare coverage of facility services. Authorizes such facilities to provide dietician, pharmacist, laboratory technician, medical technologist, and radiological services on a part-time, off-site basis, and remain open for less time than Medicare hospitals. Establishes physician, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner productivity standards to be used in determining Medicare payments for rural health clinic services. Requires rural health clinics to participate in the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) if their State provides Medicaid coverage for clinic services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Medicare rural health clinic demonstration program: (1) testing new payment methods; (2) covering early detection procedures, health education, and health risk reduction services; (3) not requiring clinics to have more than 40 percent of clinic time covered by physician assistants and nurse practitioners; and (4) reducing physician, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner productivity standards for low population density areas. Requires the Secretary to instruct Medicare carriers to make payment rates for professional medical services furnished in rural areas under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program reflect the particular costs of furnishing services in rural areas. Authorizes rural skilled nursing facilities to be paid on a prospective basis for all routine services costs of Medicare extended care services provided in a cost reporting period. Authorizes rural home health agencies to be paid on the basis of a prospectively established fee schedule for Medicare home health services provided in a cost reporting period. Requires the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to establish additional research and demonstration projects into how the Medicare and Medicaid programs could better cover care for rural beneficiaries. Provides direct Medicare reimbursement for nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not the practitioner or specialist is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health care provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's service. Provides payments for nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, and certified nurse midwife services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program on the basis of a fee schedule to be established by the Secretary. Requires the Administrator of the HCFA to establish a toll-free, telephone hotline for nursing payment inquiries under the Medicare program and, to the extent feasible, under the Medicaid program. Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Act to require peer review of nursing services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract for studies evaluating nursing costs, and gathering and disseminating data on obstacles nurses face in receiving direct reimbursement for their services; and (2) report the results of such studies to the Congress in January of 1992, 1993, and 1994. Title II: Medicaid Provisions - Amends the Medicaid program to extend coverage to all individuals whose income does not exceed the Federal poverty level and whose resources do not exceed twice the resource eligibility limit for Medicaid benefits. Requires that State Medicaid payments for rural medical practices reflect the particular costs of furnishing services in rural areas. Directs the Secretary, jointly with the States, to develop an appropriate system to reduce the payment differential between urban and rural professional health personnel. Permits rural nursing facilities to elect to receive Medicaid payments on the basis of a daily rate schedule to be established by the Secretary. Permits rural home health agencies to elect to receive payments on the basis of a per visit rate to be established by the Secretary. Provides Medicaid coverage of medical care access facility services. Requires such facilities to participate in the program. Requires direct Medicaid reimbursement for certified nurse midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner, and clinical nurse specialist services, whether or not such nurse is under the supervision of, or associated with, another health care provider, if such services would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician or as an incident to a physician's services. Requires that such payments be equal to payments for such services under the Medicare program and not vary on the basis of the type of nurse involved. Title III: Private Health Insurance Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax deduction for the entire health insurance costs of the self-employed. Makes such deduction permanent. Directs the Secretary to develop and submit to the Congress a proposal for creating a self-financing insurance pool for individuals, small businesses, and farms which have difficulty finding affordable private insurance. Title IV: Health Care System Development Provisions - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Act to place the Office of Rural Health Care in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to make grants to States which have submitted fiscal year plans for comprehensive State rural health access planning to assist States in such planning. Authorizes appropriations for such grant program through FY 1992. Requires each State to submit a comprehensive rural emergency medical services plan to the Secretary for each fiscal year, beginning with FY 1990. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992 for payments to States, which vary among States on the basis of the proportion of the nation's rural population which reside in each State, to cover the costs of planning, implementing, and monitoring the operation of trauma care systems in rural areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit entities for planning, constructing, equipping, supplying, and operating a rural health clinic and training the personnel at such clinic. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to solo and small group medical practices which provide primary health services to medically underserved rural populations to assist such practices in purchasing equipment and supplies and training personnel. Sets forth grant conditions, including the requirement that such clinics and practices accept as patients Medicare and Medicaid recipients residing in their service area, and provide 24-hour-a-day emergency medical services. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1992. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1991 for grants to migrant health centers and community health centers. Sets aside five percent of amounts appropriated to the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment for research on improving rural health care delivery systems. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study on improvements which can be made in the collection and analysis of data used in designating rural areas as medically underserved areas. Title V: Health Care Personnel Development Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY 1992 under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and Loan Repayment Program. Requires the Secretary to establish a program of scholarships and loan repayments to assure an adequate supply of trained health care personnel at medical facilities which serve medically underserved populations. Requires that no less than 40 percent of the persons receiving such assistance be targeted for placement with medically underserved rural populations. Authorizes appropriations for such program through FY 1992. Requires that persons receiving Federal financial assistance under the Public Health Service Act to operate health care personnel training programs: (1) take into account the special health care conditions of rural areas; and (2) improve efforts to recruit, as students, individuals who are likely to practice in medically underserved rural areas. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public or private nonprofit health or educational entities for training programs to increase the number of health care personnel and multi-competent health care technicians serving medically underserved rural populations. Authorizes appropriations for such grant programs through FY 1992. Requires the Secretary, in entering into contracts with schools of medicine and osteopathy for area health education centers, to give priority to health education projects targeted toward health professions having an inadequate number of practitioners, either by specialty or geographic location. Makes administrative changes affecting area health education centers. Authorizes appropriations for such centers through FY 1992. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private entities to cover the costs of providing continuing education for nurses in rural areas through the use of satellite transmissions. Title VI: Mental Health Care Provisions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require that a State's application for an Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services Block Grant include an examination of the mental health care needs of rural residents and specify the effort that has and will be made to satisfy such needs. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on improving rural mental health delivery systems. Authorizes appropriations for such research through FY 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Comprehensive Lyme Disease Act of 1989 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants with respect to Lyme disease: (1) through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, for research and treatment; and (2) through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, for public education. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Medicare Adult Day Care Amendments of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the establishment of adult day care programs providing certain health services to chronically-impaired adults in a group setting outside their homes for up to 125 days on a less than 24-hour basis. Requires providers of such services to have a multidisciplinary group of health care personnel conduct a written assessment of the status of each chronically-impaired adult before the adult's admission to the program and thereafter periodically develop and coordinate an individualized treatment plan for, and with the cooperation of, the adult. Defines a "chronically-impaired adult" as an individual 18 years of age or older who has a physical, emotional, or mental impairment which, but for the provision of adult day care, would require the provision of care in a hospital, skilled nursing, or intermediate care facility. Makes deductibles inapplicable to adult day care, requiring only the payment of a specified coinsurance amount. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations regarding adult day care programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Catastrophic Coverage Financing Improvement Act of 1989 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the catastrophic coverage monthly premium and the prescription drug monthly premium. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to maintain the current Medicare supplemental premium limit and rate, except to the extent that inflationary trends require the adjustment of such rate. Increases excise taxes on tobacco products to finance expanded part B coverage provided by the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Amends title IV (National Research Institutes) of the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Center for Nursing Research to acquire, construct, improve, or repair laboratories and other research facilities to increase the capacity of institutions of higher education to conduct nursing research. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants and enter into contracts for such purposes. Requires the Director, from amounts appropriated under this Act, to reserve 15 percent to carry out such purposes through grants to, and contracts with, institutions that received less than an aggregate of a specified amount in Federal financial assistance for research and development in the preceding two fiscal years. Requires matching funds, in cash or in kind, from non-Federal sources. Directs the Secretary to require technical and scientific peer review of applications for grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Long-Term Care Insurance Promotion Act of 1989 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat qualified long-term health care insurance contracts as health insurance contracts and their benefits as benefits for personal injuries or sickness for all tax purposes. Applies this provision to policies whose coverage is limited to the necessary diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative, and personal care services provided to a chronically ill individual in a qualified health care facility or at home. Allows an income tax deduction for long-term care expenditures. States that benefits provided under certain employer funded long-term health care insurance shall not be treated as deferred compensation plans for purposes of the tax deduction available for employer contributions to benefit plans. Permits a taxpayer a refundable 20 percent income tax credit for long-term care insurance expenditures. Reduces the credit percentage as income increases above $25,000 ($40,000 joint). Permits a maximum credit of between $200 and $2,000, based upon the age of the affected individual and indexed annually to reflect the medical care component of the Consumer Price Index. Allows early distributions from a qualified retirement plan, without penalty, to an individual aged 50 or older who uses the funds to purchase long-term care insurance within 60 days of the distribution. Considers as nontaxable any exchange by an individual aged 50 or older of a life insurance or annuity contract for a long-term care insurance contract.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Designates the week beginning July 23, 1989, as Lyme Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Designates the week of October 1 through October 7, 1989, as National Health Care Food Service Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1989
Congratulates and commends the Life-Savers Foundation of America for its work concerning marrow transplants.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Medicaid Home and Community Quality Services Act of 1989 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require States to provide Medicaid coverage of community and family support services for severely disabled individuals who became disabled before age 22 and are living in a family home, foster family home, or community living facility. Requires that such services be provided in accordance with a written habilitation plan developed by an interdisciplinary team on the basis of a comprehensive assessment of the individual's strengths and the services and support necessary to: (1) enable such individual to attain or retain capabilities for independence or self-care; (2) promote interaction between disabled and nondisabled individuals within the community; and (3) enable disabled individuals who are over age 18 to engage in paid employment. Increases the age at which newly disabled individuals will be eligible for this Act's coverage so that eventually individuals who become disabled between age 22 and 50 will be covered. Lists the services which may comprise community and family support services, requiring that such services include at a minimum: (1) case management services; (2) individual and family support services; (3) specialized vocational services; and (4) protective intervention services. Excludes from such services: (1) room and board, other than room and board provided for less than six consecutive weeks and less than 12 weeks per year; (2) cash payments as a service; (3) aversive behavior intervention, management, or therapies; (4) services provided to a disabled individual living in a hospital, or skilled nursing or intermediate care facility; (5) educational services which the State makes generally available to its residents without cost and without regard to their income; and (6) services for which payment is made under title XVIII (Medicare), or part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) or B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Act. Requires each State to make certain assurances regarding their provision of community and family support services and submit an implementation strategy to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires that such implementation strategies: (1) describe the extent and scope of community and family support services provided to the severely disabled and the extent and scope of services provided to the severely disabled who are institutionalized; (2) set forth the objectives and a five-year strategy for expanding community and family support services for the severely disabled; (3) include certain procedures for transferring severely disabled, institutionalized individuals to family homes, foster family homes, or community living facilities; (4) set forth standards for the provision of community and family support services and a program for licensing and certifying all facilities and programs providing such services; (5) provide for assessments of the provision and affect of community and family support services and the correction of service deficiencies; (6) provide the public with an adequate opportunity to comment on the strategies; (7) set forth methods ensuring that the personnel providing community and family support services receive adequate training and are competent to provide such services; (8) provide that the State has in effect a management information system capable of collecting, storing, and retrieving data on the severely disabled who receive community and family support services; (9) provide an opportunity for an appeal and hearing before a hearing officer to individuals who believe themselves to be inappropriately served or denied an appropriate service, or who are being scheduled for an involuntary transfer from one living arrangement to another; (10) describe the methods to be used in administering community and family support services; and (11) set forth procedures to protect the interests of public employees who will be affected by the transfer of the severely disabled from public institutions. Allows States to provide any new community and family support service for up to three years without meeting the Medicaid requirements that it provide a service on a statewide basis and that the service be comparable in all parts of the State. Requires that intermediate care facility services for the mentally retarded include the ascertainment of the individual needs of each newly admitted individual by an interdisciplinary team within 30 days and the development of a written habilitation plan for each individual. Limits Medicaid payments to States for skilled nursing and intermediate care facility services furnished to individuals under age 65 who became disabled before age 22 to the amount payable for such services in the fiscal year ending after the enactment of this Act, increased if and by the extent to which the percentage increase in the consumer price index exceeds six percent. Makes such limitation inapplicable to facilities which have less than 16 beds or meet the size and location requirements for a community living facility. Requires States to have in effect a system to protect and advocate those rights of the severely disabled who are eligible for medical assistance which relate to the provision of such assistance. Provides Federal Medicaid matching funds for such system. Gives individuals who are adversely affected by a violation of this Act's requirements the right to bring an action to enjoin such violation. Allows States to set payment rates for community and family support services for the severely disabled. Authorizes States to treat severely disabled individuals under age 19 who are not in a medical institution as receiving benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Act for Medicaid eligibility purposes if they would be eligible for SSI benefits if institutionalized. Requires States to establish a uniform income standard for the severely disabled regardless of whether or not they are in a medical institution. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of disabled spouses and children who, except for the resources deemed to them, would be eligible for SSI benefits. Removes certain limitations on the Secretary's approval of reduction and correction plans for deficient intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded. Makes individuals who are severely disabled and receiving or deemed to be receiving SSI benefits eligible for Medicaid as long as such qualifications continue to be satisfied. Directs the Secretary to establish, within the Health Care Financing Administration, a Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services responsible for administering Medicaid programs for the severely disabled. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop standards and a program for training Federal and State personnel who perform surveys of skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities to determine whether such facilities meet Medicaid participation requirements; and (2) periodically conduct studies of the reliability of such surveys and make the changes necessary to improve such reliability. Directs the Secretary to support the development of: (1) instruments to assess outcomes in the provision of this Act's services; and (2) competency-based personnel standards for agencies and organizations providing services to the severely disabled pursuant to this Act. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct an annual assessment of each State's compliance with this Act's requirements; and (2) issue final regulations regarding this Act's amendments prior to the first fiscal year beginning after this Act's enactment. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1989
Designates the week of April 23 through April 29, 1989, and the last full week of April of each subsequent year as National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week.