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Bill· HRH.R. 2070 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Medicare+Choice Revitalization Act of 2003 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make each annual Medicare+Choice capitation rate for a Medicare+Choice payment area for a contract year equal to the largest of the amounts specified under current law or, for 2004 and any subsequent year, 100 percent of the fee-for-service costs for the Medicare+Choice payment area for services covered under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance) or B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for individuals entitled to benefits under part A and enrolled under part B who are not enrolled in a Medicare+Choice plan for the year. Provides that, in determining the adjusted average per capita cost of Medicare+Choice for a year, such cost shall be adjusted to include the Secretary of Health and Human Services's estimate, on a per capita basis, of the amount of additional payments that would have been made in the area involved under Medicare if individuals entitled to Medicare benefits had not received services from facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the Department of Defense (DOD). Revises the calculation of the national standardized annual Medicare+Choice capitation rate used in determining the input-price-adjusted annual national Medicare+Choice capitation rate for a Medicare+Choice payment area. Terminates use of a payment adjustment budget neutrality factor after 2003. Raises the minimum percentage increase for calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates, beginning 2004, to 104 percent of the annual rate for the area for the previous year. Provides for the inclusion of costs of DOD and VA military facility services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in calculation of Medicare+Choice payment rates. Makes permanent the current Medicare+Choice reporting deadlines, and makes the month of November the permanent annual coordinated election period. Declares that Federal standards supercede certain State law or regulations with respect to Medicare+Choice plans. Prescribes requirements for specialized Medicare+Choice plans for special needs beneficiaries, allowing them to be any type of coordinated care plan.
Bill· HRH.R. 2071 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2003 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 233 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Supports and commends the contribution of pregnancy resource centers, their staffs and volunteers. Encourages government agencies at all levels to assist such centers and decries any attempts to prevent their use.
Bill· SS. 1037 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Access to Cancer Therapies Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend Medicare coverage to all oral drugs prescribed for use as an anticancer agent for a medically accepted indication.
Bill· HRH.R. 2053 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Nurse Education Promotion Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to: (1) associate degree schools of nursing for nursing student recruitment and scholarships and for nursing faculty hiring; and (2) professional nursing organizations, including nursing union chapters, for cooperative programs of continuing education for nurses with associate degrees to pursue baccalaureate degrees or receive training in understaffed and critical specialties.
Bill· HRH.R. 2049 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Women and Children's HIV Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for grants regarding the counseling and testing of pregnant women and newborn infants out of moneys appropriated under the care grant program. Prohibits making a grant to a State unless the State demonstrates that the law or regulations of the State require specified testing and services for pregnant women and newborn infants regarding HIV disease.
Bill· HRH.R. 2061 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Amends the Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998 to require the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to conduct a national youth anti-drug media campaign, the purposes of which shall include: (1) increasing the awareness of adults of the impact of drug abuse on young people; and (2) encouraging parents and other adults to discuss with young people the dangers associated with drug use (current law requires the Director to conduct a national media campaign to reduce and prevent drug abuse among young people). States that the Director shall approve the strategy of the campaign and all advertising. Directs the Director to request that the Partnership for a Drug-Free America: (1) recommend strategies addressing national, regional, and local drug threats; and (2) create all advertising to be used in the media campaign, with certain exceptions. Modifies provisions pertaining to the use of funds, including to state that no funds other than out-of-pocket production costs and talent reuse payments may be used for the creative development of advertisements except in specified circumstances. Requires the receipt of no cost matches relating to substance abuse prevention prior to any disbursal of funds for advertising time or space. Declares that any donated advertising material shall not be subject to sponsorship identification provisions in the Communications Act of 1934. Requires the Director to carry out an examination of campaign records and an audit of the costs of the campaign, in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.
Bill· SS. 1028 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Men's Health Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's Health. Requires a report.
Bill· SS. 1033 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option to expand coverage to certain pregnant women; (2) provide for enhanced matching funds with respect to certain pregnant women if certain conditions are met; (3) pay for such Medicaid expansion costs out of the SSA title XXI (State Child's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) allotment; and (4) no longer require that a newborn child be a member of the mother's household and that the mother remain eligible for Medicaid during the one year period after birth in order for the newborn child to continue to be eligible for Medicaid. Amends SSA title XXI to give certain States the option of providing pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women in accordance with this Act, which includes: (1) automatic enrollment for children born to women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance; (2) additional allotments for providing coverage of pregnant women; and (3) no cost-sharing for pregnancy-related services. Provides for coordination of SCHIP with the program under SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services). Increases the income eligibility for low-income children under SCHIP. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to review determinations, made by State agencies in connection with applications for benefits under this title on the basis of blindness or disability, that individuals who have attained 18 years of age are blind or disabled as of a specified onset date.
Bill· SS. 1030 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Health Coverage, Affordability, Responsibility, and Equity Act of 2003 or the HealthCARE Act of 2003 - Amends Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow State plans for medical assistance to provide Medicaid coverage to individuals who meet a specified standard for poverty. Amends Title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) of the Act to permit a State to opt to provide coverage of targeted low-income children in excess of the State's allotment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a credit for the cost of qualified health insurance for the taxpayer or qualifying family members. Provides for the advance payment by the Secretary of the Treasury of credit for health insurance costs of eligible low-income individuals. Establishes a program of health insurance purchasing pools (purchasing pools) for eligible individuals in participating states. Sets conditions entities must meet to enter into contracts with a purchasing pool operator. Prohibits participating insurers from limiting or denying coverage or increasing premiums for any of specified health factors. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for State-based reinsurance programs, and permits the Secretary to award grants to States to cover the costs of such programs. Directs the Secretary to establish the National Advisory Commission on Expanded Access to Health Care, which shall assess the effectiveness of programs designed to expand health care coverage or make such coverage affordable to otherwise uninsured individuals. Permits a State to apply to the Secretary for waivers of such provisions of law as may be necessary for the State to implement policies that make comprehensive, affordable health coverage available for all State residents.
Bill· HRH.R. 2032 (108th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines provisions for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of community-based attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
Bill· HRH.R. 2033 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Medicare Equity and Access Act - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) a two-year increase in the minimum percentage increase used in the calculation of annual Medicare+Choice capitation rates; (2) inclusion in the calculation of Medicare+Choice payment rates of the costs of Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs military facility services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries; and (3) preemption of duplicative State regulation. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a program to provide financial incentive awards to Medicare+Choice organizations offering plans that demonstrate the provision of superior quality health care to enrollees; (2) only award a National Performance Quality Award to Medicare+Choice organizations for plans that demonstrate superior quality in health care; (3) only award a State Performance Quality Award to Medicare+Choice organizations for plans that demonstrate the highest quality in health care furnished in the State; and (4) enter into an arrangement for the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study clinical outcomes, performance, and quality of care under the Medicare+Choice program.
Bill· SS. 1014 (108th)open
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as of October 2, 2002, to give a higher priority in the provision of hospital care and medical services under the veterans' patient enrollment system to veterans who are eligible for treatment as a low-income family under the United States Housing Act of 1937 for the area in which the veterans reside, regardless of whether such veterans are otherwise treated as single person families or families under such Act.
Bill· SS. 1018 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Health Care Tax Credit Enhancement for Workers and Steel Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the trade adjustment assistance-related health care tax credit to: (1) decrease age eligibility for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation pension recipients; (2) eliminate the three-month coverage requirement concerning State-based coverage; and (3) revise covered month eligibility for the spouse of an individual entitled to Medicare. States that the steel import licensing and monitoring program established by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce shall remain in effect until not later than March 6, 2010.
Bill· SS. 1012 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Strengthening Our States Act of 2003, or the SOS Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) provide for full Medicaid coverage of all premium and other cost-sharing expenses incurred with respect to qualified Medicare beneficiaries under the Medicaid program (Medicare cost-sharing); (2) increase the scope of Medicare cost-sharing assistance and the number of low-income Medicare beneficiaries eligible for Medicare cost- sharing assistance for individuals who would be qualified Medicare beneficiaries but for the fact that their income exceeds applicable levels; and (3) provide for a temporary increase in the Medicaid Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) (SSBG) to make appropriations for additional temporary grants for fiscal relief allotments to States. Amends: (1) SSA title XIX to continue Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment adjustments under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 and increase the floor for treatment as an extremely low DSH State; and (2) SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) to increase State access to unspent SCHIP funds. Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) make the Federal government fully responsible for the sums expended for emergency care and services furnished to illegal aliens; (2) increase Federal responsibility for translation services for Medicaid and SCHIP applicants and recipients; (3) increase Federal matching rates for certain services; (4) extend Medicaid coverage under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program to spouses of participating disabled beneficiaries; and (5) provide for optional coverage of community-based attendant services and supports. Family Opportunity Act of 2003, or the Dylan Lee James Act - Amends SSA title XIX to give States the option of: (1) allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) imposing income-related premiums. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allow a State plan to pay for the cost of home or community-based services equivalent to inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21. Amends: (1) SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for the development and support of family-to-family health information centers; and (2) SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility for certain SSI beneficiaries under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income). Revises requirements to allow uniform coverage of all low-income Americans, facilitate coverage of legal immigrants, and permit specified flexibility in eligibility determinations.
Bill· SS. 1010 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Permits the Director of the National Institutes of Health (the "Director" of NIH), acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research on paralysis. Allows the Director to award grants to public or nonprofit entities to fund Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia for paralysis research. Permits the Director to solicit public input regarding paralysis research programs. Allows the Director, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research and in collaboration with other agencies, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis. Permits the Director to make grants to multicenter networks of clinical sites that will collaborate on rehabilitation intervention protocols. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to study the unique health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Allows the Secretary to undertake direct research and to make grants. Provides for the formation of a national paralysis and physical disability quality of life plan and a hospital-based paralysis registry. Permits the Secretary to award grants to: (1) State and local health and disability agencies, including for the purpose of establishing paralysis registries; and (2) nonprofit private health and disability organizations, including for the purpose of disseminating information to the public. Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs centers for paralysis research, education, and clinical activities; and (2) carry out initiatives, through the award of grants, for quality enhancement of research on paralysis.
Bill· SS. 1017 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Medicare Hospital Outpatient Cost-Sharing Reduction Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to the prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services, to provide for an extended period through 2013 of increased graduated reduction of the Medicare beneficiary copayment for a covered OPD service furnished under Medicare.
Bill· SS. 1016 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Entitles to medical and dental care in military treatment facilities a member of the reserves who has been commissioned as an officer if: (1) the member has requested orders to active duty for the member's initial period of active duty following commissioning; (2) such request has been approved; (3) the orders have not been issued; and (4) the member does not have health care insurance and is not covered by any other health benefits plan.
Law· SS. 1015 (108th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to make grants to States for: (1) coordinating mosquito control programs to prevent and control mosquito-borne diseases; and (2) assisting States in making grants to political subdivisions (localities) to help them develop control programs. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants to localities or consortia of localities for the operation of control programs. Requires each locality or consortium receiving such a grant to: (1) develop an assessment on the need for a control program and a plan for carrying out such a program; and (2) make available matching funds in an amount not less than 1/3 of the cost of the program, unless the Secretary waives the requirement due to extraordinary economic conditions in the locality or consortium. Allows the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance to: (1) States for the planning, development, and operation of assessments and plans regarding control programs; and (2) localities or consortia of localities for the planning, development, and operation of control programs. States that such assistance may be provided directly or through awards of grants or contracts to public or private entities. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to conduct or support research into methods to control the population of insects and vermin that transmit dangerous diseases to humans.
Bill· HRH.R. 2003 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Health Care Practitioner Protection Act - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to require that criminal intent be established to prove a criminal violation for wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information. Requires that the offense be committed while the individual knows, or has reason to know, that it is an offense against the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 2018 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Asthma Act - Authorizes appropriations to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Directs the Program coordinating committee to report concerning the scope of, and Federal programs concerned with, asthma problems in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the States to expand specified asthma-related activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out related outreach activities. Gives grant priorities to communities disproportionately affected by asthma or underserved by health programs and in which a significant number of low-income individuals reside. Authorizes the Secretary to make matching grants to States to carry out activities to assist children with respect to asthma. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies in communities with significant numbers of low-income or underserved individuals for elementary and secondary school asthma-related activities. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) hospitals and managed care plans should undertake certain efforts to increase asthma-related education and training; and (2) Federal, State, and local activities should promote Public Health Service asthma diagnosis and management guidelines.
Bill· HRH.R. 1998 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Permits the Director of the National Institutes of Health (the "Director" of NIH), acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research on paralysis. Allows the Director to award grants to public or nonprofit entities to fund Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia for paralysis research. Permits the Director to solicit public input regarding paralysis research programs. Allows the Director, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research and in collaboration with other agencies, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis. Permits the Director to make grants to multicenter networks of clinical sites that will collaborate on rehabilitation intervention protocols. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to study the unique health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Allows the Secretary to undertake direct research and to make grants. Provides for the formation of a national paralysis and physical disability quality of life plan and a hospital-based paralysis registry. Permits the Secretary to award grants to: (1) State and local health and disability agencies, including for the purpose of establishing paralysis registries; and (2) nonprofit private health and disability organizations, including for the purpose of disseminating information to the public. Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs centers for paralysis research, education, and clinical activities; and (2) carry out initiatives, through the award of grants, for quality enhancement of research on paralysis.
Bill· HRH.R. 2024 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Medicaid Obesity Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require Medicaid drug coverage of agents prescribed for treatment of obesity.
Bill· HRH.R. 2008 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Medicare Paramedic Intercept Services Coverage Act of 2003 - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to revise requirements for payment for paramedic intercept service providers in rural communities. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in promulgating regulations for coverage of ambulance services, to cover advanced life support intercept services (ALS intercept services), regardless of the area involved. (Currently they must be provided in a rural area). Includes new conditions of coverage that define ALS intercept services as consisting of a qualified paramedic providing ALS level services in connection with the transport of a patient by an ambulance qualified to provide only a basic life support level of services. Requires that: (1) the entity providing the ambulance transportation be a public, non-profit, or volunteer organization; and (2) the paramedic providing such services is not employed or compensated by the entity providing the ambulance transportation. (Currently the ALS intercept services must be provided under a contract with one or more volunteer ambulance services which are required to be prohibited by State law from billing for any such services.) Requires, in addition, that: (1) such services be medically necessary based on the medical condition for which they are dispatched (currently they must be medically necessary based on the health condition of the individual being transported); and (2) the paramedic providing the intercept services accompanies and provides an ALS assessment or ALS intervention to the patient during the transport. Prohibits the Secretary from taking into account any payments made pursuant to this Act in determining payment amounts under the Medicare ambulance fee schedule, or the aggregate amount of payments under such fee schedule, for any year.
Bill· HRH.R. 2000 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Strengthening Our States Act of 2003, or the SOS Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) provide for full Medicaid coverage of all premium and other cost-sharing expenses incurred with respect to qualified Medicare beneficiaries under the Medicaid program (Medicare cost-sharing); (2) increase the scope of Medicare cost-sharing assistance and the number of low-income Medicare beneficiaries eligible for Medicare cost- sharing assistance for individuals who would be qualified Medicare beneficiaries but for the fact that their income exceeds applicable levels; and (3) provide for a temporary increase in the Medicaid Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) (SSBG) to make appropriations for additional temporary grants for fiscal relief allotments to States. Amends: (1) SSA title XIX to continue Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment adjustments under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 and increase the floor for treatment as an extremely low DSH State; and (2) SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) to increase State access to unspent SCHIP funds. Amends SSA title XIX to: (1) make the Federal government fully responsible for the sums expended for emergency care and services furnished to illegal aliens; (2) increase Federal responsibility for translation services for Medicaid and SCHIP applicants and recipients; (3) increase Federal matching rates for certain services; (4) extend Medicaid coverage under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program to spouses of participating disabled beneficiaries; and (5) provide for optional coverage of community-based attendant services and supports. Family Opportunity Act of 2003, or the Dylan Lee James Act - Amends SSA title XIX to give States the option of: (1) allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) imposing income-related premiums. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allow a State plan to pay for the cost of home or community-based services equivalent to inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21. Amends: (1) SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to provide for the development and support of family-to-family health information centers; and (2) SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility for certain SSI beneficiaries under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income). Revises requirements to allow uniform coverage of all low-income Americans, facilitate coverage of legal immigrants, and permit specified flexibility in eligibility determinations.
Bill· HRH.R. 1999 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Health Care Tax Credit Enhancement for Workers and Steel Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the trade adjustment assistance-related health care tax credit to: (1) decrease age eligibility for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation pension recipients; (2) eliminate the three-month coverage requirement concerning State-based coverage; and (3) revise covered month eligibility for the spouse of an individual entitled to Medicare. States that the steel import licensing and monitoring program established by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce shall remain in effect until not later than March 6, 2010.
Bill· HRH.R. 2021 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to provide coverage for qualified individuals participating in approved cancer clinical trials if a group health plan or an issuer offering health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan or in the individual market otherwise provides coverage to such an individual. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS), of Labor, and of the Treasury to: (1) analyze cancer clinical research and its cost implications for managed care; and (2) report to Congress an assessment of any incremental cost to group health plans resulting from this Act and any recommendations regarding action on other diseases. Requires the Secretaries of Labor, of the Treasury, and of HHS to ensure coordinated administration of this Act.
Bill· SS. 1004 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Healthy Children Learn Act - Amends the Head Start Act to authorize early Head Start and Head Start programs to carry out asthma, vision, and hearing screening programs. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary Of Health and Human Services to award grants to local educational agencies for asthma, vision, hearing, and other health screening programs for public school children. States that nothing under any law relating to a program that provides health benefits coverage for children and including the payment limitation known as the "free care rule" shall be construed as prohibiting or restricting assistance for children receiving asthma, vision, hearing, or other health screening tests.
Bill· SS. 1002 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Amateur Sports Integrity Act - Athletic Performance-Enhancing Drugs Research and Detection Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to: (1) establish a program to support research into the use of performance-enhancing substances by athletes and methods of detecting their use; (2) consider research proposals involving performance-enhancing substances banned from use by competitors in events sanctioned by professional and collegiate sports organizations; (3) fund research on the detection of naturally-occurring steroids, other testosterone precursors, and other substances for which no tests are available but for which there is evidence of abuse or abuse potential; (4) fund research that focuses on population studies to ensure that tests are accurate for men, women, all relevant ages, and major ethnic groups; (5) not fund research on drugs of abuse; and (6) develop a grant program to fund educational substance abuse prevention and intervention programs related to the use of such banned performance-enhancing substances by high school and college student athletes. Amends the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to make it unlawful to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize a betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based on a competitive game at the Summer or Winter Olympics or in which high school or college athletes participate.
Bill· SS. 1000 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
National Guard and Reserves Reform Act for the 21st Century - Makes an individual eligible for retired pay for non-regular (reserve) military service if such individual: (1) satisfies one of specified combinations of minimum age (between 55 and 60) and years of service (between 20 and 30); (2) performed the last six years of qualifying service in currently authorized categories of military service, but not while a member of a regular component, the Fleet Reserve, or the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve; and (3) is not entitled to any other retirement pay from an armed force or as a member of the Fleet Reserves. Authorizes a member of the Selected Reserve to enroll for self or for self and family under the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a reserve component employment credit equal to the sum of the employment credit with respect to all qualified employees of the taxpayer and the self-employment credit of a qualified self-employed taxpayer. Limits the credit to $25,000 for each qualified employee. Disallows the credit for failure to comply with reserve member employment or reemployment rights, or when a reserve member is called or ordered to active duty for training.
Bill· HRH.R. 1963 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Physician Pathology Services Continuity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to a laboratory-furnished technical component of certain physician pathology services, to treat such component as a service for which payment shall be made to the laboratory, and not as an inpatient hospital or hospital outpatient service for which payment is made to the hospital.
Bill· HRH.R. 1984 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Filipino Veterans Fairness Act - Provides the rate of payment of dependency and indemnity compensation for the surviving spouses of former members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army or new Philippine Scouts who served with U.S. armed forces during World War II and became U.S. citizens or lawfully resided in the United States. Makes such veterans eligible for: (1) payment of compensation ($100 per month) for service-connected disability; (2) hospital and nursing home care and medical services in the United States in the same manner as U.S. veterans; (3) veterans' housing loans made or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (4) vocational rehabilitation as well as job counseling, training, and placement. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish outpatient health care at the Manila Outpatient Clinic in the Republic of the Philippines for such veterans residing in the Philippines. Makes spouses of such veterans eligible for veterans' educational assistance. Makes the rate of assistance for such spouses and children residing in the United States equal to the rate for the dependents of U.S. veterans. Makes such spouses and dependents eligible for job counseling, training, and placement benefits. Requires the Secretary to ensure that at least one member of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans is a Commonwealth Army veteran or new Philippine Scout.
Bill· HRH.R. 1993 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Office of Correctional Health Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of Public Health and Science of the Public Health Service the Office of Correctional Health. Requires the Office to carry out public health activities for employees in Federal, State, or local penal or correctional institutions or for persons incarcerated in such institutions (collectively referred to as correctional populations). Includes among such activities disease prevention, health promotion, service delivery, research, and health professions education activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to provide for correctional populations screenings, immunizations, and treatment for hepatitis A, B, and C. Sets forth a matching requirement for such grants. Requires a portion of each grant to be expended to carry out such activities at penal or correctional facilities that are not facilities in which individuals serve terms of imprisonment, including remand facilities.
Bill· HRH.R. 1995 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to define outpatient speech-language pathology services.
Bill· HRH.R. 1956 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of certain self-administered intramuscular and subcutaneous drugs under the Medicare program.
Bill· HRH.R. 1966 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 - States that it is U.S. policy to reduce global poverty through increased economic growth by supporting a new compact for global development in which increased support is provided by developed countries to those developing countries that are ruling justly, fostering economic freedom, and investing in their citizens. Authorizes the President to provide assistance aimed at reducing poverty to eligible developing countries that enter into agreements with the United States establishing multi-year partnership plans for achieving shared development objectives (Millennium Challenge Contracts). Defines "eligible country" in terms of poverty, commitment to democracy, economic freedom, and investment in its people (including educational opportunity and access to health care). Establishes a Millennium Challenge Account for the receipt of funds authorized under this Act. Establishes in the executive branch the Millennium Challenge Corporation to implement the assistance provided under this Act.
Bill· SS. 987 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2003
Rural Health Care Fairness and Medicare Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for discharges occurring in a fiscal year beginning with FY 2004, to compute a standardized amount for hospitals in rural and small urban areas that is equal to the standardized amount computed for the previous fiscal year for hospitals located in a large urban area increased by the applicable percentage increase for the fiscal year involved. Sets the wage index at 62 percent for discharges occurring in FY 2004, except that hospitals receiving lower payments as a result of such new wage index would be held harmless. Creates a wage index floor for use in determining payments for discharges occurring in FY 2004 for hospitals with a wage index under 0.85. Directs the Secretary to publish and use alternative guidelines for geographic reclassification of certain hospitals located in sparsely populated States. Establishes a floor of 1.00 for the work geographic cost-of-practice index under the physician payment system.
Bill· SS. 991 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2003
Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2003 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) require each participating hospital to adopt and implement a staffing system that ensures a number of registered nurses on each shift and in each unit of the hospital to ensure appropriate staffing levels for patient care; (2) provide for the reporting and release to the public of certain staffing information, including a daily posting for each shift in the hospital of the current number of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff directly responsible for patient care in each unit of the hospital; (3) set forth recordkeeping, data collection, and evaluation requirements for participating hospitals; (4) provide for enforcement of this Act through civil monetary penalties; and (5) provide whistleblower protections.
Bill· HRH.R. 1951 (108th)open
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2003
VA Medical Workforce Enhancement Act of 2003 - States that: (1) current collective bargaining requirements within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) shall not preclude the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and any labor organization representing VHA employees from entering into a collective bargaining agreement with respect to the numbers, types, and grades of employees, the number of patients assigned to physicians, physicians assistants, or nurses, and employee-to-patient ratios within any VHA medical facility, clinic, or organizational subdivision; and (2) nothing shall limit the right or ability of any labor organization representing such employees from engaging in collective bargaining with respect to VHA promotion processes. Provides that when a VHA registered nurse has accomplished the performance elements of promotion to the next higher grade, the lack of a specific type of educational degree shall not be an impediment to such promotion. Authorizes additional pay for Saturday VHA nursing duty. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to develop nurse preceptors to act as mentors to newly hired registered nurses at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities.
Bill· SS. 983 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight consortium centers (each such center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence). States that the centers shall conduct multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.
Bill· SS. 977 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.
Bill· SS. 971 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines provisions for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of community-based attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
Bill· HRH.R. 1908 (108th)open
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs health care facility located at 820 South Damen Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Bill· HRH.R. 1929 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Healthy Early Education Workforce Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make an annual allotment to each State that submits an application for formula grants to provide access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers and the staff of center-based child care providers; and (2) certain relatives of such providers and staff, at the discretion of the State involved. Sets forth the following permissible activities for such grants: (1) to reimburse an employer or other individual specified under this Act for premiums or other costs for coverage under group or individual plans; (2) to offset the cost of enrolling individuals in public health benefits plans; and (3) to otherwise subsidize the cost of health benefits coverage to individuals specified under this Act. Requires a State to match at least 50 percent of the costs of the activities for which it receives a grant. Specifies portions of the funds appropriated under this Act to go to U.S. territories and possessions and Indian tribes. Sets forth a formula for calculating the amount to be received by each State (including the District of Columbia). Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several State programs representing various approaches to raising the rate of child workers with health benefits coverage.
Bill· HRH.R. 1910 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act , the Internal Revenue Code, and Medicare supplemental policy provisions to prohibit health plans and insurers, with respect to protected genetic information, from discriminating in enrollment, eligibility, contribution rates, and premium rates based on such information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of protected genetic information.
Bill· HRH.R. 1902 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Medicare Vision Rehabilitation Services Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of outpatient vision rehabilitation services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of the Medicare program.
Bill· HRH.R. 1940 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Medicare Telehealth Validation Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act regarding telehealth services (services furnished via a telecommunication system by a physician to an enrolled individual) to: (1) remove current geographic restrictions on the provision of such services; (2) make eligible for such services an entity that participates in a Federal telemedicine demonstration project approved by or financed through the Secretary of Health and Human Services as of December 31, 2000; (3) add to the facilities authorized to participate in the telehealth program; and (4) direct the Secretary to encourage and facilitate multistate practitioner licensure across State lines to facilitate the program. Directs the Secretary to make grants for expanding access to health care services for individuals in rural areas, frontier areas, and medically underserved areas through the use of telehealth. Requires the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine to ensure that individuals representing the interests of rural and medically underserved areas are members of the Group.
Bill· HRH.R. 1916 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to expand, intensify, conduct, coordinate, and support research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes, particularly type 2, in minority populations. Directs that the activities shall include research on the causes and effects of health care access disparities and racial discrimination. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) expand the National Diabetes Education Program; and (2) through the Indian Health Service, conduct research on attention by health care professionals to the American Indian population with regard to diabetes. Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to develop a Federal plan to address diabetes mellitus within communities of color. Requires the Secretary to conduct and support programs to treat diabetes in minority populations, including, through the National Institute of Mental Health, to provide for comprehensive mental health services and treatment to certain individuals. Directs the Secretary, acting through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to make grants to expand Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program internships and mentoring opportunities for recruitment of minorities in diabetes-focused health fields. Provides for Federal and State loan repayment programs for health profession students of color. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to: (1) expand the Diabetes Control Program; and (2) fund education and community outreach on diabetes.
Bill· SS. 950 (108th)open
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2003 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel relating to: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions, (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions. States that such provision does not: (1) restrict presidential authority in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers; and (2) authorize U.S. importation of personal consumption goods acquired in Cuba.
Bill· SS. 958 (108th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Patient Abuse Prevention Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the screening of skilled nursing facility and nursing facility employee applicants with criminal background checks to prevent abuse of recipients of long-term care services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) to provide for application of skilled nursing facility abuse prevention requirements to any provider of services or any other entity that is eligible to be paid under Medicare for providing home health services, hospice care, or long-term care services to an individual entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Amends SSA title XI to provide for inclusion of abusive workers in the database established as part of the national health care fraud and abuse data collection program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program to provide grants to develop information on best practices in patient abuse prevention training for managers and staff of hospital and health care facilities.