SOS Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1012
Sponsor: Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]
Introduced: 2003-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: American Samoa
Business cycles
Caregivers
Child health
Citizen participation
Coinsurance
Commerce
Communication in medicine
Community health services
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer complaints
Cost effectiveness
Disabled
District of Columbia
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Families
Federal aid to child health services
Federal-state relations
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Government statistics
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Grievance procedures
Guam
Health education
Health information systems
Health insurance
Home care services
Hospital care
Hospital rates
Hospitals
Illegal aliens
Immigrant health
Immigration
Indexing (Economic policy)
Indian medical care
Insurance premiums
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Married people
Maternal health services
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Mental care facilities
Mental health services
Northern Mariana Islands
Nursing homes
Parents
Patient satisfaction
Poor children
Pregnant women
Puerto Rico
Quality of care
Social Welfare
Supplemental security income program
Translating and interpreting
Urban affairs
Virgin Islands
Welfare eligibility
Welfare recipients
Welfare waivers
Working poor

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: 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.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5864-5871)
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5862-5864)
action_date: 2003-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate