Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act of 2007

Bill: 110-hr-2860
Sponsor: Rep. Pomeroy, Earl [D-ND-At Large]
Introduced: 2007-06-26 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Ambulances
Ambulatory care
Case mix (Medical care)
Data banks
Drugs
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Families
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to health facilities
Government Operations and Politics
Health information systems
Health maintenance organizations
Home care services
Hospital rates
Hospitals
Housing and Community Development
Indexing (Economic policy)
Marriage counseling
Medicaid
Medical fees
Medical laboratories
Medical records
Medical tests
Medicare
Mental health services
Physicians
Prescription pricing
Quality of care
Rural health
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
Telemedicine
Transportation and Public Works
Wages

Summary:
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to: (1) the Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment for rural hospitals; (2) payment for clinical laboratory tests furnished by critical access hospitals; (3) rebasing for sole community hospitals; (4) establishment of a rural community hospital program; (5) hold harmless provisions for small rural hospitals and sole community hospitals under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services; (6) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (7) permanent treatment of certain physician pathology services; (8) extension of the Medicare incentive payment program for a physician scarcity area; (9) proportional representation of rural area interests on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC); and (10) additional payments for providers furnishing ambulance services in rural areas and prompt payment of clean claims by Medicare prescription drug plans and MedicareAdvantage-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans under the Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program). 
Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to extend: (1) certain Medicare hospital wage index reclassifications and the disregarding of certain hospital reclassifications for purposes of group reclassifications; (2) Medicare reasonable costs payments for certain clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished to hospital patients in certain rural areas; and (3) the temporary Medicare payment increase for home health services furnished in a rural area.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to eligible entities in rural areas for qualified health information technology systems; (2) direct the Secretary to establish a Rural Health Quality Advisory Commission; (3) provide for Delta Region rural disparities and health systems development, as well as small rural health care provider quality improvement grants; and (4) provide for expanded application of the 340B program of limited drug prices to drugs provided in rural hospitals, including hospital provision to states of Medicaid credits on certain inpatient drugs. 
 
Directs the Secretary to encourage and facilitate the adoption of telehealth provisions allowing for multistate practitioner access across state lines.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-07-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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: 2007-06-26
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Introduced in House