lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-07-09 00:00:00

Healthy Americans Act - Requires each adult to have the opportunity to purchase a Healthy Americans Private Insurance Plan (HAPI plan), which includes employer-sponsored health coverage. Makes individuals who are not enrolled in another specified health plan and who are not opposed to coverage for religious reasons responsible for enrolling themselves and their dependent children in a HAPI plan. Sets forth penalties for failure to enroll. Establishes standardized coverage and state options for HAPI plans. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate guidelines concerning the benefits, items, and services to be covered. Sets forth requirements for setting premiums. Requires the Secretary to establish the Healthy America Advisory Committee to provide annual recommendations concerning modifications to the benefits, items, and services required. Provides for premium subsidies based on income.Authorizes states to establish a State Choices for Long-Term Care Program to provide long-term care coverage to individuals.Requires the Secretary to establish Chronic Care Education Centers.Requires states to establish or designate a state Health Help Agency to carry out the administration of HAPI plans and to promote prevention and wellness for residents.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require employers and individuals to each make shared responsibility payments for HAPI plan premiums.Sets forth requirements for health insurance issuers offering a HAPI plan. Establishes the Healthy Americans Public Health Trust Fund for the payment of premium subsidies.Terminates federal health benefits coverage, including coverage provided under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, state Medicaid coverage, and the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP).Enhanced Health Care Value for All Act of 2007 (sic)- Provides for a Comparative Effectiveness Advisory Board and a Health Care Comparative Effectiveness Research Trust Fund.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-07-31 00:00:00

Oncology Quality Care Improvement Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish budget neutral demonstration projects to test and evaluate methods that: (1) improve the quality of care provided to eligible beneficiaries with certain cancer diagnoses; and (2) reduce expenditures that would otherwise be made under the Medicare program on behalf of such individuals for such diagnoses. Authorizes the participation of oncology care groups of physicians, or of physicians and oncology nurse practitioners, in such demonstration projects, subject to certain conditions.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Date: 2008-09-24 00:00:00

Health Care Services Commission Act - Establishes a Health Care Services Commission to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and access to such services. Directs the Commissioners to conduct research, demonstration projects, evaluations, training, guideline development, and the dissemination of information on health care services and on systems for the delivery of such services.Establishes within the Commission the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care to be lead by a Director. Requires the Commissioners, acting through the Director, to establish the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care program. Requires the Director to arrange for the development of, and make recommendations for, standards of quality, performance measures, and medical review criteria. Directs the Commissioners to adopt such recommendations.Terminates the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.Independent Health Record Trust Act of 2008 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe standards for the establishment, certification, operation, and interoperability of independent health record trusts (IHRTs).Sets forth penalties for any knowing or reckless breach of the fiduciary duty of an IHRT to participants and the IHRT. Sets forth permitted uses for an electronic health record, including for self-care and public health research.Prohibits: (1) any person from requiring that an individual participate in, or authorize access to information from, an IHRT; and (2) an IHRT from charging a fee for the transmittal of information from a health care provider to be included in an independent electronic health record.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Interagency Steering Committee to coordinate the implementation of this Act. Requires the National Committee for Vital and Health Statistics to serve as an advisory committee for IHRTs.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-09-25 00:00:00

Patient Advocate Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program under which the Secretary may make grants for the development and operation of programs to provide services for patients to resolve health insurance, job retention, and debt crisis matters related to the patients' diagnosis and illness. Includes as services to be provided by grant recipients: (1) acting as contacts for individuals who are seeking prevention or early detection services or treatment for an adverse health condition; (2) facilitating the involvement of community organizations in assisting individuals to receive better access to high-quality health care services; (3) notifying individuals of clinical trials and facilitating enrollment of individuals in trials; (4) anticipating, identifying, and helping individuals to overcome barriers within the health care system to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment; (5) coordinating with the relevant health insurance ombudsman programs to provide information to individuals about health coverage; and (6) conducting ongoing outreach to health disparity populations in addition to assisting other individuals to seek preventive care.Directs the Secretary to: (1) require grantees to prohibit any patient health advocate providing services under the grant from accepting any referral fee, kickback, or other thing of value in return for referring an individual to a particular health care provider; and (2) prohibit the use of any grant funds to pay any fees or costs resulting from any proceeding to resolve a legal dispute.Sets forth provisions prohibiting discrimination in any program or activities funded or otherwise financially assisted under this Act.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Date: 2008-09-26 00:00:00

Several Approaches to Reduce the Uninsured Act of 2008 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for state comprehensive programs under which: (1) state residents are required to obtain qualified health insurance coverage; and (2) employers are required to establish a group health plan offering such coverage.Sets forth provisions governing health coverage buy-in arrangements between states and individuals and between large and small employers for the purchase of health insurance coverage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a qualified coverage buy-in arrangement credit.Health Partnership Through Creative Federalism Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State Health Coverage Innovation Commission to facilitate state health care expansion and improvement programs.Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to provide coverage under SCHIP for children who would be targeted low-income children but for coverage as beneficiaries under a group health plan as the children of participants by virtue of a qualifying employer's contribution. Requires the Secretary to facilitate the establishment of regional state arrangements under which states band together in order to increase their purchasing pooling power and offer affordable health coverage to their citizens. Provides for automatic enrollment of uninsured individuals.Preexisting Condition Exclusion Patient Protection Act of 2008 - Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the IRC to allow a health plan to impose a preexisting condition exclusion only for: (1) a condition for which medical advice, diagnosis, care, or treatment was recommended or received within 30 days of the enrollment date; and (2) three months, or nine months for a late enrollee, after the enrollment date.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

911 Modernization Act - Amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 to authorize the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to borrow from the treasury to make payments to implement the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004. Requires repayment, without interest, as funds are deposited into the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to jointly issue regulations updating the criteria to provide priority for public safety answering points not capable of receiving 911 calls.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Access to Affordable Health Care Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) tax credits to small businesses for qualified employee health insurance expenses; (2) tax credits for qualified health insurance; (3) deductions for long-term care premiums; and (4) tax credits for individuals with long-term care needs. Requires the Secretary of Labor to award grants to states to assist in planning, developing, and operating qualified small employer purchasing groups for health insurance. Directs the Small Business Administration to award grants to states, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to provide health insurance information to small employers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to award demonstration grants for states to demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative ways to increase access to health insurance. Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) to: (1) establish a special rule for redistribution of unspent FY2004 allotments; and (2) provide for additional allotments to eliminate FY2007 funding shortfalls remaining after redistribution of unspent FY2004 allotments. Renames such title the FamilyCare program and allows states to extend coverage to qualified children, parents, and pregnant women. Allows states to simplify the qualification and enrollment requirements. Requires the Secretary to provide for improved outreach and enrollment in government programs for eligible children and homeless individuals and families. Expresses the sense of the Senate that appropriations for consolidated health centers and the National Health Service Corps should be doubled over the next five fiscal years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) award grants to states for the promotion of healthy lifestyles and for the establishment and operation of worksite wellness programs for small employers and their employees; (2) expand comprehensive school health education programs; and (3) establish demonstration projects related to providing low-cost, high-quality health care and attracting educators and clinical practitioners to underserved areas.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Medicare Health Savings Accounts Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a new part E (Medicare Health Savings Accounts) under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish procedures entitling each eligible beneficiary to elect to receive benefits under a Medicare Health Savings Account (HSA) instead of benefits under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance), B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), or D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program).Amends the Internal Revenue Code to conform to this Act.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Law
Date: 2007-01-10 00:00:00

Medical Care Access Protection Act of 2007 or the MCAP Act - Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims related to the provision of health care services. 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. Requires a court to impose sanctions for the filing of frivolous lawsuits. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000 from the provider or health care institution, but no more than $500,000 from multiple health care institutions. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility. Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. Prescribes qualifications for expert witnesses. Requires the court to reduce damages received by the amount of collateral source benefits to which a claimant is entitled, unless the payor of such benefits has the right to reimbursement or subrogation under federal or state law. Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000. Prohibits a health care provider from being named as a party in a product liability or class action lawsuit for prescribing or dispensing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drug, biological product, or medical device for an approved indication. Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Law
Date: 2007-01-10 00:00:00

Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act - Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims related to the provision of obstetrical or gynecological services. 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. Requires a court to impose sanctions for the filing of frivolous lawsuits. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000 from the provider or health care institution, but no more than $500,000 from multiple health care institutions. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility. Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. Prescribes qualifications for expert witnesses. Requires the court to reduce damages received by the amount of collateral source benefits to which a claimant is entitled, unless the payor of such benefits has the right to reimbursement or subrogation under federal or state law. Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000. Prohibits a health care provider from being named as a party in a product liability or class action lawsuit for prescribing or dispensing a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drug, biological product, or medical device for an approved indication. Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2007-01-12 00:00:00

Commission on Catastrophic Disaster Risk and Insurance Act of 2007 - Establishes the bipartisan Commission on Catastrophic Disaster Risk and Insurance to assess: (1) the condition of the property and casualty insurance and reinsurance markets in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005, and the four major hurricanes that struck the United States in 2004; (2) the ongoing exposure of the United States to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and floods; and (3) recommend and report legislative and regulatory changes that will improve the domestic and international financial health and competitiveness of such markets.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-01-17 00:00:00

Health Partnership Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a State Health Innovation Commission. Requires the Commission to: (1) provide states with reform options for state health care expansion and improvement programs; (2) establish minimum performance measures and goals with respect to coverage, quality, and cost of state programs; (3) review state applications and determine whether to submit a state proposal to Congress; and (4) submit to Congress a list of state applications that the Commission recommends for approval. Deems such proposals to be approved unless a joint resolution has been enacted disapproving such proposal. Sets forth rules for congressional consideration of such proposals. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide a grant to a state that has an application approved to enable such state to carry out an innovative state health program; (2) give priority to those state programs that the Commission determines have the greatest opportunity to succeed in providing expanded health insurance coverage and improving health access; and (3) link state allocations to the meeting of the goals and performance measures established under this Act. Prohibits states from: (1) failing to maintain the same level of expenditures for health care coverage; (2) changing eligibility criteria for state medical assistance programs; or (3) permitting the imposition of any preexisting condition exclusion for covered benefits, with exceptions.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2007-01-25 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat certain controlled foreign corporations created or organized under the laws of a tax-haven country as domestic corporations for tax purposes. Sets forth a list of "tax-haven countries" and grants the Secretary of the Treasury authority to remove or add a country from such list.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-01-31 00:00:00

Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and report to Congress on outcome standards and measures to evaluate the performance of health care programs and projects that provide end-of-life care to individuals, and assess access to, and utilization of, such programs and projects. Requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress on all matters relating to the establishment and implementation of a national uniform policy on advanced directives for individuals receiving items and services under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA). Amends SSA titles XVIII and XIX to: (1) require service providers and eligible organizations to provide an appropriately trained professional for discussing advance directive issues with all adult individuals receiving medical care by or through such entities; and (2) ensure that an advance directive valid in one state will be honored in another state. Requires the Secretary, through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to: (1) operate a clearinghouse and a 24-hour toll-free telephone hotline to provide consumer information about advance directives, end-of-life decision making, and available end-of-life and hospice care services; and (2) conduct a demonstration project to develop new and innovative approaches to providing end-of-life care to Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP (SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance)) beneficiaries. Establishes within HHS an End-of-Life Care Advisory Board.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-02-06 00:00:00

Rural Medicare Equity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to eliminate the geographic physician work adjustment factor from the geographic indices used to adjust payments under the physician fee schedule. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration grants project designed to provide financial or other incentives to hospitals to attract educators and clinical practitioners so that hospitals that serve Medicare beneficiaries residing in underserved areas may host clinical rotations. Directs the Secretary to establish up to 10 demonstration projects to provide for improvements, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine, in the quality of health care provided to individuals residing in rural areas. Amends SSA title XVIII to require proportional representation of rural area interests on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC). Directs the Secretary to implement the recommendations contained in the March 2005 GAO report 05-119 entitled "Medicare Physician Fees: Geographic Adjustment Indices are Valid in Design, but Data and Methods Need Refinement."
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2007-02-15 00:00:00

Military Health Care Protection Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) and the nation have a committed obligation to provide health benefits to retired military personnel that exceeds the obligation of corporate employers to their employees; (2) DOD has many additional options to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage retirees, and should pursue such options rather than seeking large fee increases for retirees and their dependents; and (3) any percentage increase in health care fees, deductibles, or copayments for retirees and their families, and for members of the Selected Reserve currently serving on active duty and their families, should not exceed the percentage increase in military retired pay or basic pay, respectively. Limits to the previous percentage increase in retired or basic pay the authorized annual fee increase under: (1) the DOD pharmacy benefits program; and (2) certain premiums and other charges under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program). Prohibits: (1) charges for DOD inpatient care from exceeding $535 per day after March 31, 2006 (currently, during the period beginning on April 1, 2006, and ending on September 30, 2007); (2) charging an enrollment fee under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); and (3) a person from being denied a claim due to failure to enroll.