lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-01-11 00:00:00

State Health Flexibility Act of 2016

This bill amends the Social Security Act (SSAct) to replace federal requirements for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) with health care block grants to states. A state may use block grant funds to: (1) provide health care services to indigent individuals; (2) fund risk adjustment mechanisms for the purpose of subsidizing the cost of private health insurance for the high-risk population; and (3) support other welfare-related programs, as specified by the bill.

In addition to repealing titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (CHIP) of the SSAct, the bill repeals: (1) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and (2) the Health Care and Educational Reconciliation Act of 2010.

With respect to an alien not lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, a state may use grant funds to provide only emergency health care services, as specified by the bill.

A state shall contract with an approved auditing entity for annual audits of its grant fund expenditures.

The bill limits the authority of any federal agency to supervise a state's use of funds received under the block grant program.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-02-03 00:00:00

Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act or the CONNECT for Health Act

This bill amends titles XI (General Provisions) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand and modify the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services under Medicare.

The bill establishes a telehealth and remote patient monitoring services "bridge" demonstration waiver program, through which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall waive certain limitations as a condition of Medicare payment to eligible providers of telehealth services.

CMS shall also waive such limitations as a condition of Medicare payment for telehealth services with respect to providers participating in qualifying alternative payment models. 

With regard to individuals with certain chronic conditions, telehealth services shall be covered under Medicare as medical and other health services, rural health clinic services, or federally qualified health center (FQHC) services, as the case may be.

A Medicare beneficiary determined to have end stage renal disease (ESRD) and receiving home dialysis may elect to receive certain required monthly ESRD-related visits via telehealth if the beneficiary receives an in-person examination at least once every three months.

For purposes of Medicare payment for telehealth services: (1) a rural health clinic or FQHC may serve as a distant site whose clinician furnishes such services, and (2) certain requirements for originating sites shall not apply with respect to specified stroke-related services or to specified Native American health service facilities.

A Medicare Advantage (MA) plan may use telehealth services to provide benefits under the original Medicare fee-for-service program option. Specified limitations are waived with regard to such services furnished under an MA plan.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-02-23 00:00:00

Incentivizing Medicaid Expansion Act of 2016

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.

Under current law, the enhanced FMAP is equivalent to 100% in 2014 through 2016, 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and 90% thereafter. The bill retains this enhanced FMAP, but bases it on a term of years rather than on specific dates.

The bill applies retroactively.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-02-25 00:00:00

Medicaid Expansion Parity Act of 2016

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.

Under current law, the enhanced FMAP is equivalent to 100% in 2014 through 2016, 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and 90% thereafter. The bill retains this enhanced FMAP, but bases it on a term of years rather than on specific dates.

The bill applies retroactively.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-17 00:00:00

Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2016

This bill sets conditions for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims regarding health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce.Additionally, the bill sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one-year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions. The bill revises other provisions related to health care lawsuits including: (1)limiting noneconomic damages, (2)mandating joint and several liability, (3)limiting attorney contingency fees, (4) limiting punitive damages, and (5)denying punitive damages in the case of products approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-03-17 00:00:00

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide the enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place.

Under current law, the enhanced FMAP is equivalent to 100% in 2014 through 2016, 95% in 2017, 94% in 2018, 93% in 2019, and 90% thereafter. The bill retains this enhanced FMAP, but bases it on a term of years rather than on specific dates.

The bill applies retroactively.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-04-12 00:00:00

This bill amends the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 to extend through August 7, 2021, the pilot program under which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides covered health services in highly rural areas to covered veterans through qualifying non-VA health care providers.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-04-18 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on May 10, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Examining Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on inpatient and outpatient treatment capacity, availability, and needs, including detoxification programs, clinical stabilization programs, transitional residential support services, rehabilitation programs, treatment programs for pregnant women or adolescents, and treatment through Indian health programs. The report must include the barriers to real-time reporting of drug overdoses at the federal, state, and local level and ways to overcome those barriers.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-04-29 00:00:00

Rural Hospital Enhancement and Long Term Health Act of 2016

This bill revises the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act by increasing the maximum grant amount for hospitals under the community facilities grant program. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may not condition grants on the inability of applicants to finance their projects.

The bill amends the Public Health Service Act by reauthorizing through FY2021 and revising the grant program for state offices of rural health, including by requiring HHS to make the grants, thus removing HHS' discretion to make them.

HHS must report annually to Congress and each state office of rural health on rural hospitals' closures.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-04-29 00:00:00

This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat ambulance services as reimbursable emergency services if:

 the ambulance request was made because of the sudden onset of a medical condition of such nature that a prudent layperson would have reasonably expected that a delay in seeking immediate medical attention would have been hazardous to the individual or could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in placing the individual in serious jeopardy, and the individual is transported to the closest and most appropriate medical facility capable of treating such emergency medical condition.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-05-19 00:00:00

World's Greatest Healthcare Plan Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirements for individuals to maintain minimum essential coverage and for large employers to offer affordable coverage to full time employees.

Health insurance is no longer required to cover preventive care at no cost or include the essential health benefits.

Individuals enrolling in health insurance who have not maintained continuous coverage over the previous 12 months are charged an extra 20% on premiums for each consecutive year without coverage, unless the individual is subject to similar state incentives to maintain coverage.

States may enroll uninsured residents in high deductible health plans. Individuals must be permitted to opt-out of this coverage.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must develop a risk adjustment mechanism for health insurance in the individual market.

For residents of a state to qualify for premium subsidies or the health insurance tax credit in this bill, the state must permit health insurance with an annual limit on benefits to be sold on its exchange.

The bill establishes an advanceable, refundable health insurance tax credit for taxpayers enrolled in health coverage.

States may: (1) apply to HHS to use unclaimed health insurance tax credits for indigent health care; and (2) enroll Medicaid-eligible individuals in health insurance that qualifies for the tax credit instead of in Medicaid, at the individual's option.

The bill establishes Roth HSAs (health savings accounts) for paying certain medical expenses and health insurance premiums.

The tax deduction for medical expenses is eliminated.

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) and title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, including to turn federal Medicaid payments into block grants.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2016-05-23 00:00:00

Health Expansion Loss Prevention Veterans Act or the HELP Veterans Act

This bill extends transitional assistance management program (TAMP) health care and dental coverage from six months to one year for service members released from active duty.

 An individual who is employed at any time during the final 180 days of such transition period and is eligible for an employer-sponsored health plan shall not be eligible for TAMP coverage.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-05-25 00:00:00

Health Savings Account Expansion Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for health savings accounts (HSAs). The bill modifies the requirements to:

 increase the maximum contribution amounts, permit the use of HSAs to pay health insurance premiums and direct primary care expenses, repeal the restriction on using HSAs for over-the-counter medications, eliminate the requirement that a participant in an HSA be enrolled in a high deductible health care plan, and decrease the additional tax for HSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-05-26 00:00:00

Mental and Behavioral Health Care Bump Act of 2016

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to increase the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to 90% with respect to increased state Medicaid program expenditures for mental and behavioral health services. In general, a state's FMAP may range from 50% to 83% under current law.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-06-10 00:00:00

Health Care Security Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the rules for health savings accounts (HSAs) with respect to catch-up contributions for married couples, medical expenses incurred before an HSA is established, and contribution limits.

(Sec. 2) If both spouses of a married couple have family coverage under a high deductible health plan, each spouse may make catch-up contributions to the same HSA. (Catch-up contributions are additional contributions which individuals who are at least 55 years of age may make to an HSA.)

(Sec. 3) If an HSA is established within 60 days of the beginning of coverage under a high deductible health plan, any distribution from the HSA used to pay a qualified medical expense incurred during that 60-day period after the health coverage began is excludible from gross income. (Under current law, the medical expense must be incurred on or after the date that the HSA is established.)

(Sec. 4) The bill increases the maximum contribution limits for HSAs to equal the maximum for the sum of the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses that may be required to be paid for covered benefits under a high deductible health plan.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-06-13 00:00:00

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow a state Medicaid program to provide, and receive an enhanced federal matching rate for providing, administrative activities carried out with respect to a behavioral health access program for individuals under 21 years of age.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-06-28 00:00:00

Plan Verification and Fairness Act of 2016

This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require health insurance exchanges to verify an individual's eligibility for a special enrollment period before coverage is made effective.

Individuals seeking coverage through an exchange during a special enrollment period must submit to the exchange the documents necessary to verify their eligibility for the special enrollment period.

The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services must report on enrollment during special enrollment periods for plan year 2015. The report must include the number of individuals who: (1) sought to enroll during a special enrollment period but were prohibited, (2) were prohibited because they did not provide documentation supporting eligibility, and (3) were prohibited because they provided invalid documentation.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-07-05 00:00:00

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement for up to three months of retroactive coverage under Medicaid.

Under current law, a state Medicaid program must provide coverage for up to three months prior to an individual's application for benefits if the individual would have been eligible for benefits during that period. The bill eliminates this requirement and instead specifies that coverage begins in the month during which the individual applies for benefits.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-07-11 00:00:00

Obamacare Regressive Tax Relief Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the penalties for individuals who fail to maintain the minimum essential health insurance coverage required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

Stop Obamacare Spam Act of 2016

This bill prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from using collected fees to advertise health insurance exchanges.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

Disability Community Act of 2016

This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to temporarily establish a higher federal matching rate with respect to Medicaid expenditures for certain services furnished to individuals with developmental disabilities if such expenditures are attributable to compliance with specified regulations.

In the case of a state Medicaid program that does not require the use of an electronic visit verification system for personal care services and home health services, the federal matching rate for medical assistance expended on such services shall be incrementally reduced.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Congress
Date: 2016-09-13 00:00:00

Lead by Example Act of 2016

This bill provides that, beginning January 3, 2019, the only health care plan the federal government may make available to Members of Congress and congressional staff shall be health care provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

By September 15, 2017, the VA and the Office of Personnel Management shall jointly submit to Congress a plan to carry out this bill, including recommendations for any necessary legislative actions.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-09-13 00:00:00

Ensuring Health Care Opportunities Act

This bill waives certain health insurance benefit requirements in states with a county where only one health insurer offers individual coverage. In these states, health plans are not required to provide essential health benefits to be offered in the individual or small group market or through the health insurance exchange. (Plans offered in the individual market or through an exchange fulfill the requirement for individuals to maintain minimum essential coverage.)
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-13 00:00:00

Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exempt individuals with certain premium increases from the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to maintain minimum essential health coverage.

The exemption applies to any individual for any month during a year that the individual resides in a state in which the average premium for self-only or family coverage under the second lowest cost silver plans within the state has increased by more than 10% from the prior year.

The bill also requires the cost of annual deductibles to be taken into account in applying the exemption for individuals who cannot afford coverage.

The bill repeals provisions added to the IRC by PPACA that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and health flexible spending and reimbursement arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan; and (3) impose an additional tax on HSA and Archer MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-15 00:00:00

Protection from Insurance Exchange Monopolies Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage any individual residing in a county with fewer than two health insurance issuers offering qualified health plans on an exchange.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-19 00:00:00

Relief from Obamacare Exchange Failures Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage an individual who for any month is: (1) unable to obtain coverage under a qualified health plan through an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because no qualified health plan is offered to the individual through an exchange, (2) is not eligible for specified government-sponsored programs that provide health coverage, and (3) is not eligible for affordable employer-sponsored coverage.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-09-21 00:00:00

Medicare Affordability and Enrollment Act of 2016

This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to:

 establish an annual limit on out-of-pocket expenditures for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries; expand income-eligibility for cost-sharing and, with respect to beneficiaries consequently eligible for cost-sharing, establish a federal medical assistance percentage of 100% under Medicaid; limit the amount of coinsurance or copayment required of low-income beneficiaries; eliminate the two-year waiting period for Medicare coverage with respect to individuals with disabilities; allow beneficiaries residing in U.S. territories to be eligible for certain premium and cost-sharing subsidies available to other beneficiaries under the Medicare prescription drug benefit; and modify other provisions related to special rules for beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, income and resource determinations, and enrollment procedures. The bill also amends the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 to extend funding for specified beneficiary outreach and education activities.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Medicaid Gap Relief Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain low-income residents of states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) from the ACA's individual mandate to maintain health insurance coverage.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Hospital Outcomes Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to replace the existing methodology for calculating Medicare payment adjustments for subsection (d) hospitals based on outcomes in readmissions and complications with a new methodology based on potentially avoidable outcomes in those areas. (In general, a "subsection (d) hospital" is an acute care hospital that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system.)

The bill: (1) establishes a methodology for determining a hospital's financial impact attributable to potentially avoidable outcomes performance with regard to complications and readmissions, and (2) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to select methodologies for identifying potentially avoidable outcomes in these categories. Subject to both a ceiling and a floor, a hospital's payment adjustment factor for an applicable prospective period shall be based on the ratio of the hospital's financial impact to the aggregate amount of standardized payments made to the hospital with respect to that period.

CMS must ensure budget neutrality with respect to application of the payment adjustment factor across all subsection (d) hospitals.

CMS shall regularly report to hospitals and to the public on each hospital's performance with regard to potentially avoidable outcomes.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-11-14 00:00:00

Unaffordable Care Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage an individual who: (1) resides in a location with fewer than two qualified health plans offered through an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or (2) was covered under minimum essential coverage for the last month of the preceding year and the premium is at least 125% percent of the premium for that month.