HealthCARE Act of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-1399
Sponsor: Rep. Kaptur, Marcy [D-OH-9]
Introduced: 2005-03-17 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Child health
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer education
Cost control
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Employee health benefits
Expedited congressional procedure
Families
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to child health services
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Flexible benefit plans
Fraud
Government Operations and Politics
Government employees' health insurance
Government paperwork
Health care fraud
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Health maintenance organizations
House rules and procedure
Income tax
Insurance premiums
Labor and Employment
Law
Legislation
Licenses
Managed care
Marketing
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Poor children
Poverty
Preventive medicine
Profit
Reinsurance
Senate rules and procedure
Small business
Social Welfare
Standards
State employees
Tax credits
Tax penalties
Tax refunds
Tax returns
Welfare eligibility
Welfare waivers

Summary:
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: 
Health Coverage, Affordability, Responsibility, and Equity Act of 2005 or the HealthCARE Act of 2005 - Amends Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow State plans for medical assistance to provide Medicaid coverage to individuals who have incomes of no more than 100 percent of the poverty line.
 
Amends Title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of SSA to permit States to provide child health assistance to all targeted low-income children. 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a refundable credit for the cost of qualified health insurance for the taxpayer or qualifying family members. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to make advance payments to health insurance providers of credit for health insurance costs of eligible low-income individuals. 
Establishes a program under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall ensure that eligible individuals can enroll in private group health insurance through a purchasing pool operator in participating states. 
 
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 to assess the effectiveness of programs designed to expand health care coverage. 
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.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-04-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
action_date: 2005-03-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2005-03-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-03-17
text: Introduced in House