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51 records in US in 2006
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2006
Generics First Act of 2006 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude from coverage under the Medicare part D prescription drug program all nongeneric (brand name) drugs unless no generic drug has been approved, and the brand name drug is determined to be medically necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2006
Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2006 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise requirements for health care programs and services for Indians, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Provides for: (1) enrollment of qualified Indians in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA), as well as Medicare under SSA title XVIII and Medicaid under SSA title XIX (as under current law); and (2) related payments to Indian Health Programs and Urban Indian Organizations operating in the state. Replaces the Urban Health Programs Branch with a Division of Urban Indian Health. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Indian Health Service and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to consolidate certain existing programs into a new program of comprehensive behavioral health, prevention, treatment, and aftercare for Indian tribes. Establishes the National Bipartisan Indian Health Care Commission to: (1) establish a study committee to study the extent of Indian health services needs; (2) review and analyze the study committee's report; and (3) make recommendations to Congress regarding the delivery of federal health care services to Indians. Reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act through FY 2016. Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to direct the Secretary to establish the Native American Health and Wellness Foundation. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (SCHIP) to conform with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2006
Save Affordable Housing and Health Care Facilities Act of 2006 - Declares that the maximum dollar amount limitation on commitments to guarantee loans for special risk insurance fund and general insurance fund purposes under the National Housing Act shall be continued for FY2007 at a rate for operations not exceeding $45 billion. Amends the National Housing Act to increase from 275,000 to 300,000 the aggregate number of insured home equity conversion mortgages for elderly homeowners authorized under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2006
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve the Change in Scope Request submitted to the Bureau of Primary Health Care on December 8, 2005, by Family HealthCare Network (requesting a change in the scope of a specific grant by adding surgical services for the Counties of Tulare and Kings, California).
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2006
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise minimum wage provisions to require: (1) payment of an hourly wage (or salary equivalent) sufficient to enable a full-time worker to cover housing, food, childcare, transportation, and healthcare expenses for a family of four based on regional or municipal cost-of-living standards; (2) an additional amount to enable such worker to obtain any fringe benefits not provided by the worker's employer; (3) annual cost-of-living adjustments to such wage levels; and (4) wage increases for federal and contract workers proportionately equal to congressional pay raises. Makes these requirements applicable to wages paid in the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2006
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act - Prohibts the provision of nonpostal services by the Postal Service, except that the Postal Service may provide nonpostal services offered as of January 1, 2006, subject to a specified review. Requires the the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC, replaces the Postal Rate Commission) to review each nonpostal service, determine whether it shall continue, and designate it as a market-dominant, competitive, or experimental product. Provides for: (1) a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products; (2) rates and classes for competitive products; and (3)service standards for market-dominant products. Establishes a revolving Postal Service Competitive Products Fund to be available for competitive products costs. Prohibits the Postal Service from establishing anti-competitive rules or regulations. Subjects it to federal fraud, antitrust, unfair competition requirements. Eliminates its sovereign immunity. Revises qualification requirements for members of the Postal Service Board of Governors. Limits annual combined net increases in the amount of obligations issued for capital improvements and operating expenses. Allows the private carriage of letters in specified circumstances. Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to establish an Office of Inspector General in the PRC. Postal Civil Service Retirement and Health Benefits Funding Amendments of 2006 - Relieves the Postal Service of an obligation to contribute matching amounts to its employees' civil service retirement. Provides for the handling of any surplus or supplemental liability of the Postal Service regarding the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Establishes in the Treasury the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund to cover the government's contribution for health care costs of current and future retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2006
Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify certain expiring tax provisions relating to education, business investment and economic development, research, health care, environmental remediation, and energy conservation. Health Opportunity Patient Empowerment Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax and other incentives for funding health savings accounts. Medicare Improvements and Extension Act of 2006 - Amends the Social Security Act to extend and modify various Medicare and Medicaid provisions, including provisions relating to physician fee schedules, health care reporting requirements, hospital and medical provider reimbursements for certain medical procedures, Medicare fraud and abuse prevention, and the transitional medical assistance and abstinence education program. Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to offer certain areas in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act Amendments of 2006 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to reauthorize the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund and reduce rate of reclamation fees payable by mine operators to the Fund. Allows certain mine operators to prepay health care premium liabilities to the Combined Benefits Fund. Modifies rules relating to the reimportation of exported tobacco products for personal use. Extends through 2008 tariff duties on ethyl alcohol (ethanol). Allows a tax exclusion of gain from the sale of certain mineral or geothermal interests. Extends the school choice scholarship program for low-income children in the District of Columbia. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study on establishing a uniform national database on elder abuse.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2006
Polonium Act of 2006 - States that accreditation of a representative of a foreign government to the United States under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and accreditation of a representative of a foreign government to the United Nations under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations shall be deemed to be an express waiver of immunity from criminal jurisdiction (for the representative) with respect to an act of disbursing radioactive or other substances posing a lasting, clear and present danger to public health. Authorizes the President to waive such provision if in the U.S. national interest. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should propose amendments to such Conventions to ensure that persons who enjoy immunity from criminal jurisdiction (under such Conventions) do not receive such immunity with respect to acts of disbursing radioactive or other substances posing a lasting, clear and present danger to public health.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act of 2006 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require an application for the approval of a medical device or a product development protocol to include: (1) a description of any pediatric subpopulations that suffer from the disease or condition that the device is intended to treat, diagnose, or cure; and (2) the number of affected pediatric patients. Excludes a medical device distributed pursuant to the humanitarian device exemption from the prohibition that no device be sold for an amount that exceeds the cost of the device if: (1) the device is intended for the treatment or diagnosis of a disease or condition that occurs in pediatric patients; and (2) other specified requirements are met. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to designate a contact point to help innovators and physicians access funding for pediatric medical device development. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants for demonstration projects to promote pediatric device development. Includes as a duty of the Office of Pediatric Therapeutics increasing pediatric access to medical devices. Allows the Secretary to require: (1) postmarket surveillance on certain devices that are expected to have significant use in pediatric populations; and (2) a prospective surveillance period of more than 36 months for such devices, as necessary. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to establish a publicly accessible database of all studies and surveillance of medical devices. Requires the Secretary to adopt voluntary national standards for medical device coding.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Hospital Quality Reporting Improvement Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare), as amended by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, with respect to requirements for payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to adopt certain consensus-based measures, approved by national organizations with health care quality expertise, which are designed to reduce the likelihood of hospital medication errors.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the type of originating sites allowed to offer telehealth services, including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and county or community health clinics; and (2) remove the requirement that such originating sites must be in rural areas. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a conference of state licensing boards, local telehealth projects, health care practitioners, and patient advocates to promote interstate licensure for telehealth projects. Authorizes the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth to award grants to: (1) demonstrate how telehealth technologies can be used to expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of health care services, and to improve and expand the training of health care providers, the quality of health information available, and efforts to eliminate health care disparities; and (2) provide oral health services to patients who reside in rural areas. Directs the Secretary to establish a Joint Working Group on Telehealth to: (1) identify, monitor, and coordinate federal telehealth projects, data sets, and programs in rural and urban areas; (2) analyze how telehealth systems are expanding access to health care services, education, and information; (3) analyze the clinical, educational, or administrative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of telehealth applications; (4) analyze the quality of the telehealth services delivered; (5) analyze how telehealth systems can advance the improve of health care quality and the elimination of health care disparities; (6) analyze the federal resources needed to accomplish the stated objectives of telehealth programs; and (7) make recommendations for coordinating federal and state efforts to increase access to health services, education, and information in rural and urban medically underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Emergency Coverage During an Incident of National Significance Act of 2006 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to administer a health insurance program for certain individuals affected by an incident of national significance. Requires OPM to contract with three or more carriers to make available five or more federal health benefits plans (subject to the provisions of this Act) to eligible individuals. Allows an income-related tax credit for amounts paid by eligible individuals for coverage under the health insurance plan established by this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for making payments on behalf of certain individuals to such plan. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, other federal officers, and the Director of OPM to submit a plan that: (1) provides for the orderly implementation of the amendments made by this Act; and (2) includes a schedule of actions to be taken to provide for that implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Extended Access to Medicare Benefits Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part E providing certain individuals between ages 21 and 65 with access to Medicare benefits, with the addition of prenatal care and family planning services. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare for the Uninsured Trust Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit equal to 85% of part E premiums paid for the taxpayer and the taxpayer's spouse and dependents; and (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to make premium payments on behalf of individuals enrolled under part E to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Medication Safety Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare), as amended by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, with respect to requirements for payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to adopt certain consensus-based measures, approved by national organizations with health care quality expertise, which are designed to reduce the likelihood of hospital medication errors.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Long-Term Care Improvement Act of 2006 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Own Your Own Future long-term care awareness campaign should be expanded and implemented in all states; and (2) the Administration on Aging should distribute the document entitled "Long-Term Care Planning Kit" published by the Department of Health and Human Services as part of such campaign. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate a day each year as the Day for a National Conversation on Long-Term Care. Establishes the Long-Term Care Financing Commission to conduct analyses of the financing of long-term care, including the financing of nursing facilities. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to consider the operating margins, government funding, and quality improvement efforts of skilled nursing facilities in making its payment rate recommendations for such facilities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow individuals a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; (2) allow long-term care insurance to be offered in cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements; and (3) make certain consumer protection provisions applicable to long-term care insurance contracts. Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social Security Act to repeal limitations on the eligibility of residents of certain small publicly-operated community residences for supplemental security income benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Expanding, Rebuilding, and Improving Access to Qualified Health Care Professionals in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Affected Areas Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Public Health Workforce Scholarship Program to ensure an adequate supply of public health professionals in state and local public health agencies in areas directly affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita; and (2) the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program for individuals agreeing to work at a public health agency. Provides for an additional loan repayment incentive amount for working in a Hurricane Katrina or Rita priority service area. Provides for grants to test, implement, and evaluate models of cultural competence training. Reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) assistance to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession; (2) assistance to schools for programs of excellence in health professions education for underrepresented minorities; and (3) a loan repayment program for qualified health professionals that agree to conduct certain prevention activities. Allows the Secretary to make grants for scholarships to individuals changing careers to a health profession. Gives priority to individuals who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and who seek to work in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Requires the Secretary to make additional payments under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to states directly affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita for: (1) health services; (2) health professional recruitment, training, and retention programs; and (3) repair, renovation, and construction of health facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Ensuring Mental Health Services Access Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to support programs to promote mental health among all children and their families and to provide early intervention services to ameliorate identified mental health problems in children and adolescents. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to make grants to provide mental health services in response to public health emergencies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) establish the National Mental Health Crisis Response Technical Assistance Center; and (2) award grants to provide for the training of mental health professionals with respect to the treatment of individuals who are victims of disasters. Allows the Secretary to award grants to increase the coordination and development of disaster preparedness efforts relating to the needs of children. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage for marriage and family therapist services. Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to provide for the training of officers and employees of the state juvenile justice system on access to mental health and substance abuse treatment programs and services in the state for juveniles who come into contact with the state juvenile justice system. Requires the Attorney General to make grants for the establishment and implementation of a program for juveniles who are confined to juvenile correctional facilities and who have mental health or substance abuse problems. Establishes the Federal Coordinating Council on Criminalization of Juveniles to study the criminal and juvenile justice and mental health and substance abuse activities of the federal government and report on legislation to improve the treatment of mentally ill juveniles confined in a juvenile correctional facility.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Bridges of Hope for Transitional Health Insurance Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to provide funds to eligible public health authorities for the provision of temporary assistance to individual workers who have suffered from permanent changes in a major segment of industrial production employment in a sector of the economy in an area through irreversible structural changes. Sets forth funding eligibility requirements, including that there is an economic dislocation in the area that results in the creation of an employment shortage for individuals in a particular segment of the industrial economy that is attributable to national treaties, statutes, policies, and objectives. Requires a program to: (1) provide assistance in paying for health care premiums for employees and former employees (and their family members) in the area served by the authority; and (2) provide such assistance on a sliding scale that does not take into account the value of an individual's homestead or other non-liquid assets. Allows an eligible public health authority to aggregate and assign individuals to various insurers and to negotiate on behalf of the authority and the federal government for health insurance opportunities that improve the range of coverage and plans or that result in a more reasonable premium or a greater mix of coverage and covered services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Strengthening Public Health Protections in Major Disasters and Emergencies Act - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President, if one or more chemicals or substances associated with potential acute or chronic human health effects are being or have been released in a major disaster area, to carry out a program for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of workers or volunteers who responded to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or who respond to a major disaster or emergency, residents in a disaster area, or persons who are employed in, or who attend school, child care, or adult day care in, a disaster area. Authorizes the President to carry out such a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical institution or consortium of medical institutions, especially those located near the disaster area and any other area in which there reside groups of individuals that worked or volunteered in response to the disaster. Requires such institution to have appropriate experience in the areas of environmental or occupational health, toxicology, and safety. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter jointly into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study and report on disaster area health and environmental protection and monitoring. Amends: (1) the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to extend to September 30, 2010, the authority for the predisaster hazard mitigation program; and (2) the Public Health Service Act to authorize the use of preventive health services block grants for community outreach and education programs and other activities designed to address and prevent health and health care disparities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Spinach Research and Recovery Act of 2006 - Authorizes additional appropriations, for the purpose of conducting and supporting applied research to enhance the safety of perishable agricultural commodities for consumers, for: (1) the Agricultural Research Service: (2) the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; and (3) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments (not to exceed 75% of the value of the unmarketed spinach crop) to growers and first handlers of fresh spinach that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the Food and Drug Administration Public Health Advisory issued on September 14, 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2006
Veterans Programs Extension Act of 2006 - Extends for specified periods certain expiring programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including: (1) health care for veteran participants in Department of Defense (DOD) chemical and biological warfare testing; (2) certain assistance for homeless veterans and seriously mentally ill veterans; and (3) the educational assistance allowance for work-study. Expands eligibility under the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program to include the spouse or child of a member who: (1) is hospitalized or receiving outpatient medical care; (2) has a total permanent disability incurred in the line of duty; and (3) is likely to be discharged or released due to such disability. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate specified VA health care facilities as: (1) centers of Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical activities; and (2) multiple sclerosis centers of excellence. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified major medical facility leases in FY2006 and FY2007. Codifies recently enacted VA cost-of-living adjustments in veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2006
Patients' Privacy Protection Act of 2005 (sic) - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to declare that a patient has a privilege with respect to any evidence consisting of a confidential communication or record made in the course of medical treatment by a duly licensed health care provider. Authorizes a court to order the disclosure of such a communication or record to the extent the court determines that the public interest in disclosure significantly outweighs the patient's privacy interests. Requires the court to ensure that personally identifiable information is redacted and that the patient's communications and records remain under seal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2006
Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to limit to $10, adjusted for inflation, the monthly amount of prescription drug cost-sharing for full-benefit dual eligible individuals (eligible for both part D and Medicaid under SSA title XIX) and other lowest-income individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2006
Authorizes the President (acting through the Secretary of Health and Human Substances), upon determining that a substance of concern has been released in an area declared to be a disaster area and has disrupted the transportation system of the United States, to carry out a program for the coordination, protection, assessment, monitoring and study of the health and safety of responding or affected individuals with high exposure levels. Requires that such a program: (1) apply to workers or volunteers, clean up workers, residents of the area, and persons who are employed in or who attend school in the area; (2) ensure that such individuals are informed about and protected against potential health impacts of any such substance in a timely manner, are monitored and studied for any health impacts, and receive health care referrals; and (3) ensure that information from any such monitoring and studies is used to prevent or protect against similar health impacts. Requires the President to take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of any participant in a registry or study. Gives priority in any registry or study to the protection, monitoring, and study of the heath and safety of individuals with the highest level of exposure to a substance of concern. Allows the President to carry out such a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical institution. Requires the Secretary, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to jointly enter into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study disaster area health and environmental protection and monitoring.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2006
Homeland Security Community Mobilization Act of 2006 - Establishes the Homeland Security Community Mobilization Program, under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make grants to local entities in 10 metropolitan areas (including New Orleans, Louisiana) to carry out pilot projects that provide: (1) emergency response training to prepare low-income adults and youth to provide emergency assistance in metropolitan areas during disasters; (2) job training and financial assistance to families with children in school, awarding priority to families with incomes under the poverty line; (3) community education and school support; (4) juvenile delinquency prevention programs and youth counseling; (5) entrepreneurial business development training for youth; and (6) family health care information and solutions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2006
Guarantee of Medical Accuracy in Sex Education Act - Prohibits a federal agency from providing funds or assistance to an entity for the development of course material or the provision of instruction on human development and sexuality if such material or instruction will include medically inaccurate information. Directs such an agency to require a sufficient assurance that such material or instruction will not include medically inaccurate information. Defines "medically inaccurate information" as information related to medical, psychiatric, psychological, empirical, or statistical statements that is unsupported or contradicted by peer-reviewed research by leading medical, psychological, psychiatric, and public health organizations and agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2006
Designates November 2006 as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Reaffirms the Senate's commitment to: (1) advancing lung cancer research and early detection, particularly the Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia's goal of significantly increasing the 5-year survival rate of individuals diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States to 50% within 10 years; and (2) working with all federal agencies involved in cancer research to develop a coordinated road map for accomplishing that goal.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2006
Designates November 2006 as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Reaffirms the Senate's commitment to: (1) advancing lung cancer research and early detection, particularly the Lung Cancer Alliance of Georgia's goal of significantly increasing the 5-year survival rate of individuals diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States to 50% within 10 years; and (2) working with all federal agencies involved in cancer research to develop a coordinated road map for accomplishing that goal.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2006
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) on the fourth anniversary of his passing, Senator Paul Wellstone should be remembered for his compassion and leadership on social issues throughout his career; and (2) Congress should act to end discrimination against U.S. citizens who live with a mental illness by enacting legislation to provide for coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2006
Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise national quality assurance standards to assure consistent performance by laboratories of valid and reliable cytology services, to include requirements that each clinical laboratory: (1) ensure that all individuals involved in screening and interpreting cytological preparations participate annually in an approved continuing medical education program in gynecologic cytology that provides each participant with gynecologic cytologic preparations designed to improve locator, recognition, and interpretive skills; and (2) maintain a record of program results. Requires the Secretary to terminate individual proficiency testing that was in effect before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2006
Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to extend through 2007: (1) the authority for health care provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) due to prior participation in Department of Defense (DOD) chemical and biological warfare testing; (2) certain grants and per diem assistance for homeless veterans; (3) VA treatment and rehabilitation and additional services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans; (4) the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans; and (5) VA authority to reimburse the next of kin of a deceased veteran for the placement of a government marker at a burial site in a private cemetery. Extends through June 30, 2007, VA authority for an additional educational assistance allowance for work-study performed by veterans. Expands eligibility for educational assistance under the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance Program to include the spouse or child of a member of the Armed Forces who has a total permanent disability incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) provide for the development of an Internet Clearinghouse within the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparity Elimination; (2) provide for programs of excellence in health professions education for underrepresented minorities in health professions; and (3) support demonstration projects designed to improve the health and health care of racial and ethnic minority and other health disparity populations through improved access to health care, patient navigators, and health literacy education and services. Provides for grants to: (1) design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate, science-based and community-driven sustainable strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic health and health care disparities; and (2) implement systems of primary care practices to eliminate disparities in the delivery of health care and improve the health care provided to all patients. Requires the Secretary to establish the Community Health Initiative demonstration program to support comprehensive state, tribal, or local initiatives to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority and other health disparity populations. Provides for grants or contracts for research to improve the health of racial and ethnic minorities and other health disparity populations. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection of data from federally conducted or supported health programs by race, ethnicity, geographic location, socioeconomic position, primary language, and, when practicable, health literacy. Establishes an Office of Minority Health and Health Disparity Elimination and transfers to it functions of the Office of Minority Health. Requires the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
9/11 Comprehensive Health Benefits Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare-based eligibility and benefits for individuals with a 9/11 disaster-connected health condition. Makes Medicare the secondary payor for 9/11-related coverage. Prohibits a workers' compensation law or plan from discriminating against an individual by virtue of the individual's entitlement to such benefits. Prohibits an employer from discriminating against an individual regarding hiring, advancement, compensation, or other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment by virtue of the individual's entitlement to such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a consortium to conduct and coordinate screening, monitoring, treatment, and diagnostic research on the 9/11 disaster-connected health conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to permit the designation of a critical access hospital in Cass County, Minnesota, by exempting it from the requirement that it be certified by the state before January 1, 2006, as being a necessary provider of health care services to residents in the area. (Thus restores to Minnesota state authority to waive the application of the 35-mile rule.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act of 2006 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to real estate investment trusts (REITs) to: (1) treat passive foreign exchange gains attributable to overseas real estate investment as qualifying REIT income; (2) increase from 20 to 25% the the maximum value of a REIT's total assets thay may be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries; (3) revise safe harbor rules for the excise tax penalty on certain REIT sales activities; (4) treat rental payments made by a health care facility to a REIT as qualifying REIT income; and (5) treat income from, and interests in, foreign-qualified REITs as qualifying REIT income and assets.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Environmental Protection for Children Act of 2006 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) ensure that environmental and public health standards for environmental pollutants protect children and vulnerable subpopulations from exposure; and (2) create lists of pollutants posing health risks to children as well as safer-for-children substances and products. Requires the EPA Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support research into the health effects and toxicity of pesticides and pollutants on children. Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to require the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (Agency) and the EPA Administrator to jointly: (1) develop a hazardous substance list; and (2) revise guidelines for the preparation of toxicological profiles of substances. Requires the Agency to prepare and revise such profiles every five years. Directs the Agency develop an environmental health education program focusing on the hazardous substance exposure of fetuses and children. Requires the Agency, in cooperation with states, to establish a registry of children exposed to significant levels of hazardous substances released at facilities on CERCLA's National Priorities List. Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require EPA to establish toxic chemical release form reporting thresholds for toxic chemicals that may present a significant risk to children's health or the environment. Amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) to require EPA, acting jointly with the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to publish a list of substances toxic to children because of their carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or reproductive toxic effects. Requires EPA to implement strategies for chemical testing and risk assessment. Requires manufacturers and importers of such substances to report to the CPSC on such substances. Authorizes private citizens to bring a civil action in the U.S. district court for specified violations of FHSA or this Act. Establishes a penalty fund. Requires EPA, in collaboration with HHS, to establish a block grant program for state testing and removal of pollutants from schools and day care centers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Remember 9/11 Health Act - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to deem certain emergency service, rescue and recovery, and law enforcement personnel and transit and cleanup workers who responded to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, residents of and individuals employed or attending school, child care, or adult day care in the declared disaster area (eligible recipients) to be civil employees under provisions relating to: (1) compensation to federal employees for work injuries; and (2) claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property incident to federal service, except that such an eligible recipient shall not be responsible for the payment of any health care expenses that result from exposure to the adverse conditions after such attack. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or cooperative agreements to specified programs, including one established by the New York City Fire Department, to carry out screening and clinical examinations and long-term health monitoring and analysis for eligible recipients. Limits such monitoring to 20 years and 40,000 individuals. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct or support diagnostic or treatment research for adverse health conditions considered to be associated with the terrorist attacks. Allows the Secretary to establish similar compensation and health programs for those affected by the September 11, 2001, Pentagon attack. Requires the Secretary to convene a 9/11 Health Emergency Coordinating Council to examine and formulate recommendations on the adequacy of the: (1) responses by the federal, state, and local governments and the private sector to the attacks; (2) care and compensation for the victims; (3) federal tracking of the monitoring and treatment of individuals suffering health effects from the attacks; and (4) coordination among the Council members to the attacks. Allows the Council, upon request, to issue advisory opinions on the relative obligation of the federal government and any insurance company resulting from the attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Hospital Payment Improvement and Equity Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process under which a hospital may appeal its wage index classification under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and select another area within the state (or, at the Secretary's discretion, within a contiguous state) to which to be reclassified. Prescribes special rules for: (1) a competitively disadvantaged hospital in a single-hospital Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) surrounded by rural counties; and (2) rehabilitation hospitals and rehabilitation units.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a process for the approval of a comparable biological product based on its similarity to a previously licensed biological product (the reference product). Allows a person to file an abbreviated comparable product application with the Secretary of Health and Human Services that includes: (1) data demonstrating that the product is comparable to the reference product; (2) information to show that the conditions or conditions of use prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the labeling proposed for the comparable product have been previously approved for the reference product; and (3) information to show that the route of administration, the dosage form, and the strength of the comparable product are the same as those of the reference product. Sets forth conditions for approval of such an application by the Secretary. Allows an applicant to request that the Secretary make a determination as to the interchangeability of a comparable product and the reference product. Provides market exclusivity to such an interchangeable product. Requires the Secretary to establish requirements for the efficient review, approval, suspension, and revocation of comparable biological product applications. Sets forth provisions governing patent infringement claims against the license holder of a comparable product.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Nursing Education and Quality of Health Care Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to, or enter into contracts with, schools of nursing, health care facilities, or partnerships of such schools and facilities to educate nurses to serve in rural areas, including by developing distance learning education. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants to such schools, facilities, or partnerships for the establishment of demonstration projects that will expand the number of nurse faculty within schools of nursing, including by developing recruitment programs and offering scholarships. Allows the Secretary, in the case of a nurse faculty shortage, to obligate more than 10% of traineeships for advanced nursing education programs to individuals in doctoral degree programs. Requires the Secretary to: (1) award grants to, and enter into contracts with, eligible entities to increase the nursing opportunities for individuals who reside in rural communities, including by increasing and expanding pipeline programs and supporting a web-based health care workforce development system; (2) award grants to entities for demonstration projects that advance the education, delivery, or measurement of quality and patient safety in nursing practice; and (3) award grants to collect data and study the potential benefits of basic and advanced nursing education levels or certification status in the efforts to promote quality improvement strategies and enhance patient outcomes and cost saving measures.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) on the fourth anniversary of his passing, Senator Paul Wellstone should be remembered for his compassion and leadership on social issues throughout his career; (2) Congress should act to end the discrimination against U.S. citizens who live with a mental illness by guaranteeing equal status for mental and physical illness by health insurance companies; and (3) mental health parity legislation should be a priority for consideration in the 110th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) on the fourth anniversary of his passing, Senator Paul Wellstone should be remembered for his compassion and leadership on social issues throughout his career; (2) Congress should act to help U.S. citizens who live with a mental illness by enacting legislation to provide for equal coverage of mental health benefits with respect to health insurance coverage unless comparable limits are imposed on medical and surgical benefits; and (3) mental health parity legislation should be a priority for consideration in the 110th Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2006 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and make available to local educational agencies a voluntary policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools. Directs that such policy address: (1) a parental obligation to provide the school with information regarding a student's food allergy and anaphylaxis; (2) creation of an individual health care plan tailored to each student with a documented risk for anaphylaxis; (3) communication strategies between schools and emergency medical services; (4) strategies to reduce the risk of exposure in classrooms and common areas; (5) food allergy management training of school personnel; and (6) authorization and training of school personnel to administer epinephrine when the school nurse is not immediately available. Allows the Secretary to award grants to assist local educational agencies in implementing food allergy management guidelines contained in the policy.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Medicare Prescription Drug Savings for Our Seniors (Medicare Prescription Drug SOS) Act of 2006 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) offer one or more Medicare operated prescription drug plans (PDPs) with a service area consisting of the entire United States; and (2) negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the purchase cost of covered part D drugs. Requires the monthly beneficiary premium for qualified prescription drug coverage and access to negotiated prices to be uniform nationally. Provides for auto-enrollment of subsidy eligible individuals in Medicare operated PDPs. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the use of 2005 as base in computing the state clawback provision. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to: (1) eliminate cost-sharing for certain full-benefit dual eligibles, and the indexing on the price sharing for dual-eligibles and qualifying low income beneficiaries; (2) expedite low-income subsidies under the Medicare PDP; (3) increase permitted resources to obtain low-income subsidies; and (4) waive the late enrollment penalty for subsidy eligible individuals for first 24 months of non-enrollment. Sets forth anti-fraud and abuse provisions. Provides for protection of Social Security benefits against a decrease owing to part D Medicare premium increases. Extends the annual enrollment periods of the Medicare PDP. Prohibits a PDP sponsor from removing a covered part D drug from the plan formulary, or otherwise introduce a barrier to access to covered part D drugs, without advance notice. Directs the Secretary to review benzodiazepine prescription policies to assure appropriateness and avoid abuse. Eliminates the MA Regional Stabilization Fund and certain Medicare Advantage overpayments. Requires prompt payment of clean claims by Medicare and Medicare Advantage PDPs. Prohibits co-branding. Provides for the: (1) payment of minimum dispensing fees to encourage use of generic drugs; and (2) provision of medication therapy management services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of screening tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) associated with a higher risk of cervical cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare of certain medical mobility devices approved as a class III medical device pursuant to a premarket approval application under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in making coverage determinations respecting intermittent catheterization under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, from denying coverage of a replacement catheter on the basis of frequency of use.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Health Equity and Justice Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for: (1) establishment of the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare; (2) programs to improve language access to health care for individuals with limited English proficiency; and (3) programs to improve health care for patient populations that have low functional health literacy. Provides for the establishment of: (1) a national working group on workforce diversity; (2) a technical clearinghouse on health workforce diversity; (3) a health and healthcare disparities education program; and (4) an Advisory Committee on Health Professions Training for Diversity. Requires federal health-related programs to: (1) require the collection of data on the race, ethnicity, and primary language of each applicant for and recipient of health-related assistance; and (2) analyze such data to detect racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care. Renames the Office of Minority Health as the Office of Minority Health Disparity Elimination. Requires the Indian Health Service (IHS) to be administered by an Assistant Secretary of Indian Health (in place of the Director of IHS), who shall report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires four specified federal agencies to each establish an Office of Minority Health and Racial, Ethnic, and Primary Language Health Disparities Elimination. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) an Office of Minority Health within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and (2) an Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Establishes the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice and the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Provides for grants to establish health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately experience disparities in health status and health care.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Routine HIV/AIDS Screening Coverage Act of 2006 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage to provide coverage for routine HIV/AIDS screening under terms and conditions no less favorable than for other routine screenings. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) denying eligibility or continued eligibility to enroll or renew solely to avoid these requirements; (2) denying coverage for such screening because there are no known risk factors present or because the screening is not clinically indicated, medically necessary, or pursuant to a referral, consent, or recommendation by any health care provider; (3) providing monetary payments, rebates, or other benefits to encourage individuals to accept less than the minimum protections available under this Act; (4) penalizing or otherwise reducing or limiting the reimbursement of a provider because such provider provided care to a participant or beneficiary in accordance with this Act; (5) providing incentives to induce the provision of care in a manner inconsistent with this Act; or (6) denying a participant or beneficiary continued eligibility to enroll or renew solely because of the results of an HIV/AIDS test or screening procedure. Applies such requirements to health insurance coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Improving Medication Access for Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish certain prescribed drugs and medicines (i.e., only drugs and medicines included on the National Prescription Drug Formulary of the Department of Veterans Affairs) as specific therapy in the treatment of any illness or injury suffered by each veteran who is receiving additional compensation or allowance due to a service-connected disability, or an increased pension as a veteran of a period of war, by reason of being permanently housebound or in need of regular aid and attendance. Allows any Medicare-eligible veteran to elect to be furnished by the Secretary, on an outpatient basis, such drugs and medicines as specific therapy for any illness or injury suffered by the veteran. Requires such election to last for a calendar year and be irrevocable. Allows for election renewal. Requires appropriate information to be furnished to each veteran prior to making an election. Authorizes the Secretary to administer immunizations to veterans who voluntarily request such immunizations in connection with care for a disability in a Department of Veterans Affairs health care facility. Provides for appropriate copayments for the drugs and medicines received by veterans under this Act.