lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2007-12-06 00:00:00

National Health Literacy Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to establish within the Agency a Health Literacy Implementation Center to enhance efforts to eliminate low health literacy by improving measurements, research, development, and information dissemination. Defines "health literacy" as an individual's ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health care decisions.Directs the Center to: (1) make health literacy resources available to researchers, health care providers, and the public; (2) sponsor demonstration and evaluation projects; (3) develop the next generation of health literacy interventions and tools; (4) identify and fill research gaps relating to health literacy that have direct applicability to quality improvement; (5) assist federal agencies in establishing specific objectives and strategies for carrying out the Center's purpose and in monitoring programs; (6) enter into implementation partnerships to promote adoption of literacy interventions and tools; and (7) enter into an interagency agreement to facilitate coordination of health literacy activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Education.Requires: (1) the Center to convene at least one annual public meeting to help raise awareness about the problem of health literacy and federal and state efforts to address the issue; (2) the Director of the Center to award grants to states to provide for the establishment of a network of state or regional health literacy resource centers; (3) a state health literacy resource center to meet at least annually to share a model of best practices; and (4) the HHS Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to identify opportunities within HHS to improve the public's health literacy through the Medicare and Medicaid programs and at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-01-23 00:00:00

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for a Medicare Advantage benchmark adjustment for certain local areas with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and for certain contiguous areas.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-01-30 00:00:00

Delays until April 1, 2009, implementation of proposed changes to payment rules under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act for case management and targeted case management services.Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, before such date, from taking any action to restrict coverage or payment under Medicaid if such action is more restrictive than the administrative action, policy, or practice that applies to coverage of, or payment for, such services under Medicaid on December 3, 2007.Makes null and void any such action taken by the Secretary between December 4, 2007, and March 31, 2009, that is based in whole or in part on such interim final rule.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-02-08 00:00:00

Provides that, if the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) determined under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act without regard to this Act for a state for FY2008 is less than the FMAP as so determined for FY2007, the FY2007 FMAP shall be substituted for the FMAP for the third and fourth calendar quarters of FY2008, before the application of this Act. Provides that, if the FMAP determined without regard to this Act for a state for FY2009 is less than the FMAP as so determined for FY2008, the FY2008 FMAP shall be substituted for the FMAP for the first, second, and third calendar quarters of FY2009, before the application of this Act. Provides that, for each eligible state for the third and fourth calendar quarters of FY2008, and for the first, second, and third calendar quarters of FY2009, the FMAP shall be increased by 2.95 percentage points. Provides for an increase in the cap on Medicaid payments to Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-03-13 00:00:00

Medicare Rural Health Access Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) extend Medicare flex grants; (2) revise requirements for the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program; (3) permit rebasing for sole community hospitals; (4) revise the Medicare inpatient hospital payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals; (5) eliminate temporarily the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment cap; and (6) extend and revise the Medicare hold harmless provision under the prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department (HOPD) services for certain hospitals.Revises requirements for: (1) the treatment of rural sole community hospitals and Medicare dependent, small rural hospitals under the PPS for HOPD services; (2) the treatment of Medicare reasonable costs payments for certain clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished to hospital patients in certain rural areas; and (3) payment for clinical laboratory tests furnished by critical access hospitals.Extends the Medicare incentive payment program for physician scarcity areas.Revises the work geographic adjustment and the practice expense geographic adjustment under the Medicare physician fee schedule.Extends the treatment of certain physician pathology services, and increased Medicare payments for rural ground ambulance services.Makes hospital-based renal dialysis centers (including satellites) and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) originating sites for payment of telehealth services.Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set $92 as the maximum rate of payment per visit in 2009 for independent rural health clinics.Requires the Secretary to exempt from competitive acquisition requirements rural areas and small metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population of 600,000 or less.Permits physician assistants to order post-hospital extended care services. Recognizes attending physician assistants as attending physicians for the purpose of serving hospice patients.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2008-04-02 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of using community-based organizations to ensure that veterans receive needed care and benefits by: (1) increasing the coordination of providers of health care and benefits for veterans to assist veterans transitioning from military service to civilian life; (2) increasing the availability of high-quality medical and mental health services to transitioning veterans; and (3) providing assistance to families to help them adjust to such veterans in their transition.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-04-03 00:00:00

Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to telehealth services to provide for: (1) an increase in the number of types of originating sites; (2) no facility fee for certain such sites; (3) expansion of practitioners eligible to furnish telehealth services; and (4) changes in the process for updating the list of telehealth services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to set up a Telehealth Advisory Committee to make recommendations on the appropriate addition or deletion of telehealth services and Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2008-04-17 00:00:00

Veterans Health Care Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to contract to provide specialized residential care and rehabilitation services to a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom who suffers from a traumatic brain injury, has an accumulation of deficits in activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living and, because of these deficits, would otherwise require nursing home admission even though such care would generally exceed the veteran's nursing needs. Directs the Secretary to provide full-time board-certified physicians and dentists the opportunity to continue their professional education through VA sponsored continuing education programs. Authorizes (currently, directs) the Secretary to reimburse such physicians or dentists up to $1,000 per year for continuing professional education not available through VA sources. Exempts hospice care from requirements to pay a copayment in connection with hospital or nursing home care or medical services. Repeals a provision that prohibits the Secretary from performing widespread human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing but does allow voluntary testing of certain individuals. Authorizes the Secretary to disclose the name and address of present or former Armed Forces members and their dependents to collect charges for care or services provided for a non-service-connected disability. Removes provisions ending, on September 30, 2008, the Secretary's authority to obtain information from the Secretary of the Treasury or the Commissioner of Social Security under specified provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Directs the Secretary to increase certain disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation amounts.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-05-06 00:00:00

Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) conduct, coordinate, and support research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes in minority populations; and (2) conduct and support programs to treat diabetes in minority populations.Requires the Director of NIH, through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to provide for: (1) health care professionals' mentoring; and (2) minority health professionals' participation in diabetes-focused research programs.Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to develop and implement a federal plan to address diabetes mellitus within communities of color.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) conduct and support research and other activities with respect to diabetes in minority populations; (2) direct the Division of Diabetes Translation to conduct and support programs to educate the public on diabetes in minority populations; and (3) carry out diabetes health promotion and prevention programs for minority populations.Directs the Secretary to carry out: (1) education and awareness programs designed to increase participation of minority populations in clinical trials; and (2) mentorship programs for minority researchers who are conducting research on diabetes in minority populations.Provides for studies on the shortage of adult and pediatric endocrinologists specializing in diabetes and on outcomes of minority children with diabetes compared to non-minority children.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-05-22 00:00:00

Oral Health Initiative Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Oral Health Working Group to: (1) review the effectiveness of, and recommend improvements to, existing federal oral health programs; and (2) develop programs to improve the oral health of, and prevent dental disease in, children, Medicaid-eligible adults, medically-compromised adults, and other vulnerable populations at the highest risk of dental disease. Sets forth duties for the Group, including to: (1) review existing oral health programs and policies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (2) identify opportunities for new programs; and (3) make recommendations for improvements to the financing of oral health care. Requires the Secretary to establish an advisory panel to provide advise and recommendations to the Group.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-05-22 00:00:00

Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow individual taxpayers a refundable tax credit for health insurance costs paid.Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for establishment and governance of association health plans (AHPs), which are group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations and which meet certain ERISA certification requirements. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide that the laws of the state designated by a health insurance issuer (primary state) shall apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that issuer in the primary state and in any other state (secondary state), but only if the coverage and issuer comply with certain requirements.Promoting Health for Future Generations Act of 2008 - Amends the IRC to to revise provisions related to health savings accounts (HSAs), high deductible health plans, and medical savings accounts (MSAs), including to: (1) increase the tax deduction for contributions to HSAs; (2) allow a new tax deduction for high deductible health plan premiums; and (3) allow individual contributions to a Medicare Advantage MSA.Increased Access to Health Insurance Act of 2008 - Amends the IRC to permit the use of HSAs to purchase health insurance.Sets forth conditions for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims regarding health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce, including: (1) 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; and (2) limits on noneconomic and punitive damages.Sets forth provisions related to health information technology. Provides for health record banks. Creates safe harbors from civil and criminal penalties in current anti-kickback laws for providing certain health information technology and training services.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-06-11 00:00:00

Preserving Access to Medicare Act of 2008 - Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) revise the payment adjustment for low-volume hospitals; (2) extend increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services; (3) extend the authorization for Medicare rural hospital flexibility program grants; (4) provide for rebasing for sole community hospitals; and (5) extend the rural home health add-on policy through 2009. Revises the formula for payments for physician services to provide an update to the single conversion factor of: (1) 0.5% for the remainder of 2008; and (2) 1.1% for 2009. Extends the Physician Assistance and Quality Initiative (PAQI) Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Revises requirements or provides for: (1) incentive payments for electronic prescribing and primary care services in physician scarcity areas; (2) the Medicare anesthesia teaching program; (3) advanced diagnostic imaging services; (4) Medicare coverage of items and services under cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation programs; (5) phase-out of the indirect costs of medical education (IME) from capitation rates; (6) quality improvement programs; and (7) certain prohibitions with respect to marketing of Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary to establish specified pilot projects regarding chronic kidney disease. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to extend the transitional medical assistance (TMA) and abstinence education programs. Amends SSA title XIX to extend: (1) the qualifying individual program; and (2) the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment for Tennessee and Hawaii. Provides for: (1) asset verification under Medicaid; and (2) reduction in payments for Medicaid administrative costs to prevent certain payment duplications. Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend authority for supplemental grants under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF). Amends the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 to provide for additional funding for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to make appropriations for federal reimbursement of eligible providers for emergency health services furnished to undocumented aliens.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-07-30 00:00:00

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend from three to four years the lookback timeframe for recognition of certain designations and certification with respect to rural health clinics under the Medicare program.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2008-09-24 00:00:00

Public Health Coordinating Council Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a National Public Health Coordinating Council to: (1) facilitate and strengthen sustained communication and coordination across federal agencies and offices regarding public health; and (2) review and make recommendations concerning socioeconomic and environmental policies to reduce health disparities and improve the public's health.Requires the Secretary to determine the duties of the Council, which shall include: (1) reviewing existing federal health programs and policies for the availability of equitable public health services across communities; (2) making recommendations for the modification of such federal programs and policies to improve public health; and (3) seeking to strengthen the impact of federal public health efforts by improving interagency collaboration and promoting a dialogue on broad public health issues.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2009-01-06 00:00:00

Veterans Health Equity Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with respect to each of the 48 contiguous states, to ensure that veterans eligible for hospital care and medical services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have access to: (1) at least one full-service hospital of the Veterans Health Administration in the state; or (2) hospital care and medical services comparable to that provided in full-service hospitals through contract with other health providers in the state.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2009-01-13 00:00:00

Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) to permit states to elect to provide Medicaid and SCHIP coverage without a five-year delay of certain children and pregnant women lawfully residing in the United States (including battered individuals) who are otherwise eligible for such assistance.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2009-01-26 00:00:00

United States National Health Care Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act - Establishes the United States National Health Care (USNHC) Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care.Prohibits an institution from participating unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities to participate. Gives patients the freedom to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows such insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. Sets forth methods to pay institutional providers of care and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization. Establishes the USNHC Trust Fund to finance the Program with amounts deposited: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care; (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% income earners; (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income; and (4) by instituting a small tax on stock and bond transactions. Transfers and appropriates to carry out this Act amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Requires the USNHC Program to give first priority in retraining and job placement and USNHC employment transition benefits to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced administration. Requires creation of a confidential electronic patient record system. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. Provides for: (1) the eventual integration of the Indian Health Service into the Program; and (2) evaluation of the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health programs.
Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2009-02-04 00:00:00

MediFair Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a system for making adjustments to the amount of payment made to entities and individuals for items and services provided under the original Medicare fee-for-service program under parts A (Hospital Insurance) and B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Requires such adjustments in order to make the state average per beneficiary amount equal to the national average per beneficiary amount. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to develop recommendations on policies and practices that would encourage: (1) healthy outcomes and quality care under the Medicare program in states with respect to which payments are reduced under such system; and (2) the efficient use of payments made under the Medicare program in such states.