jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-05 00:00:00

Grow Our Own Directive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year Grow Our Own Directive or G.O.O.D. pilot program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of the Armed Forces for education and training as VA physician assistants.

 The VA shall provide eligible individuals with program information about application requirements and partner entities.

An individual is eligible to participate in the pilot program who:

 has medical or military health experience; has received a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or postbaccalaureate training in a science relating to health care; has participated in the delivery of health care services or related medical services, including military training regarding identification, treatment, and prevention of diseases and disorders; and does not have a degree of doctor of medicine, osteopathy, or dentistry. The VA shall select at least 250 pilot program participants and give priority to persons who:

 participated in the Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program between January 2011 and February 2015, and agree to be employed as a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) physician assistant in a community designated as a medically underserved population located in a state with a per capita veterans population of more than 9%. The VA shall:

 provide educational assistance to pilot program participants for the costs of obtaining a master's degree in physician assistant studies or a similar master's degree, use VA educational assistance programs to provide such assistance, and provide at least 35 scholarships to pilot program participants each year. The VA shall enter into an agreement with each pilot program participant to serve a period of obligated service as a VHA physician assistant. An individual who breaches such agreement shall be liable to the United States for a prorated portion of the amount paid to such individual under the program.

 The VA shall ensure that a physician assistant mentor is available at each VHA facility that employs a pilot program participant.

 The VA shall seek to partner with:

 at least 15 institutions of higher education that offer an accredited master's degree program in physician assistant studies or a similar area of study and agree to guarantee places for qualifying pilot program participants, other accredited institutions of higher education that offer similar programs, the Transition Assistance Program of the Department of Defense, the Veterans' Employment and Training Service of the Department of Labor, and pilot program marketing and advertising programs. For purposes of carrying out the pilot program, the VA shall appoint or select within the VHA's Office of Physician Assistant Services: (1) a Deputy Director for Education and Career Development of Physician Assistants, (2) a Deputy Director of Recruitment and Retention, (3) a recruiter, and (4) an administrative assistant.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-05 00:00:00

Support Our Military Caregivers Act

(Sec. 2) This bill permits an individual to elect to have an independent contractor perform an external clinical review of any of the following:

 a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) denial of an individual's application to be a caregiver or family caregiver eligible for VA benefits; with respect to an approved application, a VA determination of the level or amount of personal care services that a veteran requires; a request by a caregiver or family caregiver for a reconsideration of the level or amount of personal care services that a veteran requires based on post-application changes; and a revocation of benefits by the VA. The VA shall ensure that each external clinical review is completed and the individual is notified in writing of the results within 120 days of the election.

(Sec. 3) The VA shall issue policy, procedural, and operational directives for the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers and the program of general caregiver support services, including with respect to eligibility. The Government Accountability Office must report on VA processes for making and adjudicating eligibility determinations.

(Sec. 4) The bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to revise the limits on the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses payable to VA employees in each of FY2017-FY2021.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-16 00:00:00

Delivering Opportunities for Care and Services for Veterans Act of 2015 or the DOCs for Veterans Act of 2015

This bill amends the Social Security Act with respect to determining the number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) residents for payments to hospitals for direct graduate medical education (GME) costs, in particular the limitation on the total number of FTE residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine in a hospital's approved medical residency training program. In applying this limitation, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall not take into account any such resident that is filling a GME residency position that counts towards meeting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) obligation under the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to increase the number of GME residency positions at VA medical facilities by up to 1,500 positions.

The period for increasing GME residency positions at VA medical facilities is extended to 10 years.

 The VA and HHS shall jointly conduct a six-year pilot program to establish at least three graduate behavioral medicine residency programs in underserved areas in the United States.

Education and training of marriage and family therapists and licensed professional mental health counselors shall be included in VA health personnel education and training programs.

Persons with a doctoral degree in mental health counseling are eligible for appointment to a VA mental health counselor position.

Physician assistants in VA facilities must receive pay competitive with pay for similar positions in non-VA facilities in the same labor market.

Not less than 30% of debt reduction payments paid under the education debt reduction program each year shall be paid to individuals who practice medicine in a rural or highly rural area.

The positions (and pay) of Directors of Veterans Integrated Service Networks are established.

 The VA shall conduct a two-year pilot program to assess the feasibility of implementing in rural and highly rural areas with a large percentage of veterans a nurse advice line to provide veterans with medical advice, appointment and cancellation services, and information on the availability of VA benefits.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-11-30 00:00:00

Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a Docs-to-Doctors Program to recruit individuals separating from the Armed Forces who served in a health care capacity in the Armed Forces.

The VA shall: (1) implement a uniform credentialing process for certain health care employees of the Veterans Health Administration; and (2) provide full practice authority to advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants, and such other licensed VA health care professionals as consistent with their education, training, and certification.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2015-12-01 00:00:00

Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act 

(Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), upon the advanced written request of a covered physician, to modify the hours of employment for a full-time VA physician to be more than or less than 80 hours in a biweekly pay period.

For purpose of determining pay, such a physician shall be deemed to have a biweekly employment schedule of 80 hours.

A physician with an irregular work schedule must account for at least 2,080 employment hours (through work or use of leave or paid time off) in a calendar year.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-12-10 00:00:00

Primary Care Physician Reentry Act of 2015

 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration program to facilitate physician reentry into primary care clinical practice. To be eligible to participate, a physician must agree to provide primary care at a health center for at least two years.

Grantees must assist reentering physicians by providing training, paying credentialing and other necessary fees, paying salaries, and providing loan repayment and other financial assistance.

HHS must: (1) assess the need for additional primary care physicians, (2) develop a directory of programs that help physicians reenter clinical practice, (3) disseminate evaluation tools to measure the core competencies of physicians reentering clinical practice, and (4) assist regulatory and credentialing authorities to structure requirements for reentering physicians that ensure patient safety while addressing the burdens on those physicians.

 This bill limits civil liability for physicians participating in a reentry project.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-12-16 00:00:00

Medicare Mental Health Access Act

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand the definition of "physician," for purposes of the Medicare program, to include a clinical psychologist with respect to the furnishing of qualified psychologist services.

The bill excludes a clinical psychologist, in 2017 and 2018, from certain negative payment adjustments for failing to be a meaningful electronic health records user.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-01-13 00:00:00

Veterans Administration Bonus Elimination Act of 2016

This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to deny certain awards or bonuses to senior executive employees of the Veterans Health Administration who fail to satisfy requests for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital or medical services within the VA's wait-time goals or within the time line specified by the requesting individual, whichever is later.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-02-12 00:00:00

Expedited Hiring for VA Trained Psychiatrists Act of 2016

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to appoint a psychiatrist who completes a residency at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility to a VHA health care position immediately after such residency, without regard to civil service or classification laws, if: (1) the psychiatrist meets the qualifications established in regulations prescribed for the position, and (2) the position has been unfilled for at least 35 days.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-14 00:00:00

Advancing Medical Resident Training in Community Hospitals Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise payment rules for graduate medical education (GME) costs with respect to a hospital that establishes a new medical residency training program.

With respect to a hospital that has not entered into a GME affiliation agreement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall establish the hospital's full-time equivalent (FTE) resident amount only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with an approved FTE resident amount based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its FTE resident amount reestablished when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold.

Current law limits the number, subject to the application of certain adjustments, of FTE residents a hospital may have in allopathic and osteopathic medicine for purposes of Medicare payment. The bill specifies that CMS shall determine a hospital's limitation adjustment only after determining that the hospital's medical residency training program trains more than 1.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period. In the case of a hospital with a limitation adjustment based on the training of no more than 1.0 FTE resident in a cost reporting period before October 1, 1997, or 3.0 FTE residents in a cost reporting period after that date, CMS shall provide the hospital an opportunity to have its adjustment re-determined when the hospital begins training FTE residents in excess of the applicable threshold.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-16 00:00:00

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow a nurse practitioner to fulfill documentation requirements for coverage, under Medicare, of special shoes for diabetic individuals. Under current law, such requirements may be satisfied only by a physician.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-17 00:00:00

Training Tomorrow's Doctors Today Act

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase, for purposes of Medicare payment, the otherwise applicable resident limit for qualifying hospitals. The bill establishes a process for distributing the new residency positions.

The bill eliminates the use of three-year rolling averages with respect to calculating, for purposes of Medicare payment, specified limits on certain new or redistributed residency positions.

With respect to specified hospitals, all of the time spent by an intern or resident in an approved medical residency training program, regardless of setting, shall be counted for purposes of determining a hospital's number of residents.

The bill revises payment rules for graduate medical education (GME) costs with respect to a hospital that establishes a new medical residency training program. With respect to a hospital that has not entered into a GME affiliation agreement, CMS shall establish the hospital's resident amount only after determining that the hospital trains more a specified number of residents. Similarly, CMS shall adjust a hospital's limitation on allopathic and osteopathic residents only after determining that the hospital trains more than a specified number of residents. In specified cases, CMS shall provide a hospital an opportunity to have its resident amount reestablished and its limitation adjustment re-determined.

The bill also revises provisions regarding: (1) aggregation rules relating to resident limits, and (2) the period of board eligibility for residents who change specialties.

CMS shall establish and implement procedures for adjusting a hospital's indirect medical education payments based on specified performance measures.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-21 00:00:00

Health for Each American Less fortunate Through Help from medical professionals In Every Rural and impoverished area Act of 2016 or the HEALTHIER Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to states with a volunteer health care provider law that permits a volunteer to provide health care services without being licensed in the state if the volunteer is licensed in another state.

The law must: (1) require the services to be provided in a rural or impoverished area and to be within the scope of practice of the provider in the state, and (2) prohibit the services from being provided for more than seven consecutive days.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-23 00:00:00

Co-Prescribing Saves Lives Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) establish training guidelines for federal health care facilities and federally qualified health centers; and (2) train certain health care providers at federal health care facilities on best practices for prescribing pain medications, principles of pain management, the misuse potential of controlled substances, identification of potential substance use disorders and referral to further evaluation and treatment, and disposal of controlled substances.

HHS, the VA, and DOD must establish, for certain health care facilities, guidelines for the prescription of naloxone to individuals at an elevated risk of overdose. (Naloxone is a prescription drug used to rapidly reverse an overdose of opioids, which are drugs with effects similar to opium, such as heroin and certain pain medications.)

HHS must award grants to state departments of health for the development and application of guidelines for the prescription of opioid overdose reversal drugs and to increase access to naloxone. Grants may be used to:

 establish a program for purchasing, prescribing, and distributing opioid overdose reversal drugs; expand innovative models of naloxone distribution; train and provide resources to health care providers and pharmacists on prescribing opioid overdose reversal drugs; offset individuals' cost-sharing for opioid overdose reversal drugs; conduct community outreach to raise awareness of the availability of opioid overdose reversal drugs; and establish protocols to connect patients who have experienced a drug overdose with treatment.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-23 00:00:00

Strengthening Accreditation For Everyone Act of 2016 or the SAFE Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the factors that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must consider with respect to determining whether certain national accreditation demonstrates a provider's compliance with applicable requirements of the Medicare program.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-04-15 00:00:00

Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study access by underserved populations to general surgeons, including whether the health professional shortage area designation under the National Health Service Corps program accurately assesses adequacy of access or whether another measure or designation would be more appropriate.

HHS must consider potential methodologies for designating surgical health professional shortage areas.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-05-11 00:00:00

Enhancing Opportunities for Medical Doctors Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to redistribute unused residency positions for which graduate medical education costs are paid under Medicare. Specifically, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services must: (1) reduce a hospital's resident limit by a specified amount if the hospital has unused residency positions and is not a rural hospital with fewer than 250 acute care inpatient beds, and (2) increase the resident limit for each qualifying hospital that applies for an increase. In aggregate, the number of increased positions shall equal the number of reduced positions. The bill establishes specified priorities, limitations, and capacity considerations with respect to redistribution.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-05-25 00:00:00

Peer-Support Specialist Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report on and publish best practices and professional standards in states for: (1) establishing and operating health care programs using peer-support specialists, and (2) training and certifying peer-support specialists.

HHS must award grants to develop and sustain behavioral health paraprofessional training and education programs, including through tuition support.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

Get Veterans a Doctor Now Act

This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer a contingent physician's appointment to a person who, upon completion of a post-graduate training program, completes a residency program within two years after the VA offer.

Eligibility requirements for a VA physician's appointment, including a contingency appointment, are revised to require completion of a residency program rather than an internship.

 The VA shall ensure that a recruiter or other similar official of each Veterans Integrated Service Network visits, at least annually, each allopathic and osteopathic teaching institution with a graduate medical education program within the Network to recruit individuals for the Veterans Health Administration.
Topic: Health — Manpower
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-06-16 00:00:00

This bill includes directors of Veterans Integrated Service Networks in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of the Under Secretary for Health.

The bill provides that the pay for medical directors and directors of networks shall consist of base pay and market pay. Market pay shall consist of pay intended to reflect the recruitment and retention needs for the assignment of a particular director.

The requirement that the VA consult with two or more national surveys in making a general determination of market pay for physicians and dentists, or with a panel or board in making such determination for a specific physician or dentist, is eliminated.

The annual determination of VHA staff shortages shall include shortages for five clinical and five non-clinical occupations for each network. (Such determination currently includes the five occupations for which there are the largest VA-wide shortages.)

The bill establishes in the VA an executive management fellowship program to provide eligible employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the VHA with private sector training and experience.

Veterans federal employment preference provisions are amended to: (1) make all retired members of the armed forces preference eligible, (2) provide preference eligible individuals with a senior executive position hiring preference, and (3) make the active duty service criteria 180 cumulative days (rather than 180 consecutive days as currently provided).

The VA may non-competitively appoint a qualified former employee to any VA position within the competitive or excepted service that is one grade higher than the position most recently occupied by the employee.

The VA shall:

 conduct an annual performance plan for each political appointee that is similar to the plan conducted for VA senior executive employees; establish a single database that lists each vacant VA position that is critical, difficult to fill, or both; prescribe regulations to allow for excepted service appointments of qualifying students and recent graduates leading to career or career conditional employment; provide VHA human resources with training on employee recruitment and retention; establish a promotional track system for employees who are technical experts to advance without being required to transition to management positions; collect information on hiring effectiveness; and develop and carry out a standardized exit survey for career and noncareer VA employees and executives who voluntarily separate from the VA. The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study of succession planning at: (1) each VA medical facility, and (2) the VBA and the VA National Cemetery Administration.