zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Health Information Technology (IT) Public Utility Act of 2009 - Establishes within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Federal Consolidated Health Information Technology Board to facilitate the implementation of electronic health record systems among safety-net health care providers, particularly small, rural providers. Sets forth the duties of the Board, which include: (1) ensuring that there is a constant interoperability between VistA (the software program utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA]) and the RPMS (the Resource and Patient Management System of the Indian Health Service); (2) updating VistA and RPMS open source software on a timely basis; (3) establishing a child-specific electronic health record; and (4) developing and integrating quality and performance measurements. Directs the Board to establish the 21st Century Health Information Technology (HIT) Grant Program to award competitive grants to eligible safety-net health care providers to enable such providers to fully implement VistA or RPMS with respect to the patients served by such providers. Directs the Board to give preference to applicants that: (1) are located in geographical areas that have a greater likelihood of serving the same patients and utilizing interoperability to promote coordinated care management; or (2) demonstrate the greatest need for such award. Authorizes the Board to award competitive grants to eligible long-term care providers for demonstration projects to implement VistA or RPMS with respect to the individuals served by such providers.

Date: 2009-04-23
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement nurse-to-patient staffing plans that provide adequate, appropriate, and quality delivery of health care services and protect patient safety. Sets forth minimum direct care registered nurse-to-patient ratios for emergency units, operating rooms, critical care units, and nursery units. Prohibits hospitals from imposing mandatory overtime and layoffs to meet required ratios. Requires hospitals to post a uniform notice that sets forth nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and requirements and to maintain records of actual direct care registered nurse-to-patient ratios in each hospital unit. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish a grant program to cover the costs of purchasing safe patient handling equipment; (2) establish procedures to allow the filing of complaints against a hospital for violations of this Act; (3) carry out a registered nurse workforce initiative to ensure an adequate number of registered nurses and reduce critical workforce shortages in hospitals; (4) establish nursing educational assistance grant programs; and (5) award grants to hospitals for a five-year nursing preceptorship and mentorship demonstration project to address nurse workforce shortages, improve patient care, and promote the retention of nurses in the workforce. Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish a federal safe patient handling standard to prevent musculoskeletal disorders for direct care registered nurses and other health care providers. Grants nurses certain rights, including the right to act as a patient advocate and to refuse assignments that violate the requirements of this Act or for which the nurse is not prepared by education, training, or experience. Prohibits hospitals from discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against a nurse for refusing a work assignment. Amends the Social Security Act to make Medicare and Medicaid providers subject to the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2009-05-13
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Critical Access Flexibility Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare rural hospital flexibility program a state may establish. Authorizes state designation of a Medicare critical access hospital (CAH), even if it does not comply with the requirement that it be located more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital, if it is certified by the state on or after enactment of this Act as being a necessary provider of health care services to residents in the area. (Thus restores state authority that existed before January 1, 2006, to waive the 35-mile rule.)

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Urban Medicare-Dependent Hospitals Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2009, to revise the criteria and payment formula for "subsection (d) hospitals" which are urban Medicare-dependent hospitals. (Generally a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payment under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)

Date: 2009-06-09
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2009 - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend for an additional five years the rural community hospital demonstration program.

Date: 2009-06-17
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) submit to Congress a plan to introduce pay-for-performance mechanisms into contracts which compensate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contractors for the provision of veterans' health care services through community-based outpatient clinics (clinics); (2) commence plan implementation within 60 days after submission, unless Congress enacts a law prohibiting or modifying plan implementation; and (3) report semiannually to Congress on the advisability of utilizing such mechanisms in the provision of VA health care services by means in addition to such clinics.

Date: 2009-06-18
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medicare Senior Housing Plan Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to create a senior housing facility plan option, meeting specified criteria, which may be offered by a Medicare Advantage organization. Retricts enrollment to individuals who reside in: (1) a continuing care retirement community; or (2) a housing facility assisted under the Housing Act of 1959 or supported under the low-income housing federal income tax credit program and qualify for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

Date: 2009-06-25
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009 - Provides hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans and family members who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water there was contaminated by volatile organic compounds, including known human carcinogens and probable human carcinogens, for any illness.

Date: 2009-07-27
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Outpatient Mental Health Modernization Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow as partial hospitalization services nutritional planning, meals, and transportation. Directs the Secretary of Heatlh and Human Services (HHS) to convene a Behavioral Health Advisory Committee to address issues relating to: (1) discrimination against the chronically mentally ill, elderly, and U.S. veterans as it relates to receiving treatment for mental illness; and (2) the establishment of conditions of participation for community mental health centers that provide partial hospitalization services under the Medicare program.

Date: 2009-07-28
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Safe Treatment, Avoiding Needless Deaths, and Abuse Reduction in the Detention System Act or the Strong STANDARDS Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) ensure that all individuals subject to detention under the Immigration and Nationality Act (detainees) are treated humanely and granted specified protections; and (2) comply with minimum requirements concerning detainees set forth in this Act. Sets forth requirements concerning a wide range of issues, including: (1) detainee medical care, examinations, and records; (2) detainee releases, transfers, and transportation; (3) detainee access to telephones, legal information and representation, translation services, and recreational activities; (4) protection of detainees from abuse, the unique needs of vulnerable detainees, and the segregation of children; (5) limitations on solitary confinement, shackling, and strip searches; (6) detainee visits with religious individuals and children; (7) detention facility personnel training; (8) detainee grievances; and (9) facility compliance. Sets forth specific requirements for short-term (72 hours or less) detention facilities, including concerning: (1) provision of basic needs, detainee access to consular officials and health care professionals, and the return of property; and (2) protections for children. Requires the Secretary to appoint and convene an Immigration Detention Commission to conduct independent investigations of detention facility and DHS compliance with requirements under this Act. Establishes reporting requirements concerning any individual who dies while in DHS custody.

Date: 2009-07-30
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, as amended by the Family Support Act of 1988 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, to treat a critical access hospital as rural, notwithstanding the reclassification of its location county as an urban county ("Lugar county") under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, in order to permit pass-through payment for the reasonable costs of certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) services. Counts on-call and standby costs for such services as reasonable CRNA costs.

Date: 2009-08-05
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Rural Health Access and Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to give priority to critical access hospitals in awarding grants to facilitate and expand the electronic movement and use of health information among organizations according to nationally recognized standards. Expands the 340B drug discount program to allow participation as a covered entity by certain children's hospitals, critical access hospitals, rural referral centers, sole community hospitals, and rural health clinics. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the cost in each state of dispensing prescription drugs under the Medicaid program. Requires states to use the report to assess the adequacy of Medicaid pharmacy dispensing fees. Repeals provisions terminating the grant program for the operation of state offices of rural health.

Date: 2009-12-04
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act - Requires emergency contraception in drug form to be included on the basic core formulary of the uniform formulary of pharmaceutical agents for the pharmacy benefits program of the Department of Defense. Allows emergency contraception in other-than-drug form to also be so included. States that prior authorization shall not be required for such contraception.

Date: 2009-12-17
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend for an additional five years the rural community hospital demonstration program.

Date: 2009-12-22
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Care Improvement Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center or Polytrauma Network Site for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the northern Rockies or the Dakotas. Requires the Fort Harrison Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, to be evaluated as a potential location for such a Center or Site.

Date: 2010-02-24
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Health and Radiation Safety Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to to report annually to Congress on the low-volume (treating 100 patients or fewer) programs at each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the Secretary to ensure that all employees at a VA hospital where radioactive isotopes are used in the administration of medical services receive appropriate training on what constitutes a medical event and when and to whom a medical event should be reported. Prohibits such isotopes from being used at a VA hospital where such training is not provided. Requires the Secretary to carry out specified evaluations and peer reviews of all medical services provided under contract with a non-government entity.

Date: 2010-05-07
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Cavernous Angioma CARE Center Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Cavernous Angioma Clinical Care, Advocacy, Research, and Education Center of Excellence at the University of New Mexico to: (1) provide basic, translational, and clinical research with respect to new diagnostic, prevention, and novel treatment methodology for individuals with cavernous angioma; and (2) serve as a model for, and provide support to, medical schools and research institutions. Requires the Director of the Center to: (1) ensure that the Center provides community-, family-, and patient-centered culturally sensitive care; (2) encourage and coordinate opportunities for individuals to participate in clinical research studies that will advance medical research and care; and (3) develop the Center as a model and training facility for other facilities throughout the United States that are engaged in research regarding, and care for individuals with, cavernous angioma.

Date: 2010-08-02
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Electronic Health Record Incentives for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act of 2010 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, to prescribe a special rule for applying Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote inpatient locations. Prohibits administrative or judicial review of: (1) the methodology and standards for determining a remote inpatient location, a qualified remote inpatient location, a component facility, a qualified component facility, a main provider, and a qualified main provider, and which such locations, facilities, and providers are qualified; and (2) the methodology and standards for the election in connection with such special rule. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to set forth a special rule for applying Medicaid EHR incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote locations.

Date: 2010-08-05
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Community Health Improvement Councils Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program for the creation of State Health Improvement Technical Assistance Centers and Community Health Improvement Councils to improve community health through local innovation. Defines "Community Health Improvement Council" to mean a locally driven, private, nonprofit entity that serves as the neutral convener for engaging providers and insurers and that fully engages patients and citizens in coordinating and improving the health care delivery system through community-wide education programs to promote healthier lifestyles, improve local or regional health status, clinical outcomes, and reductions in the growth in medical spending and health disparities through various approaches. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to five eligible entities to establish State Health Improvement Technical Assistance Centers, each of which shall: (1) establish up to four Community Health Improvement Councils; (2) provide technical assistance to such Councils; and (3) report on improvements in local and state health status, clinical outcomes, reductions in medical spending growth, and health care disparities. Requires the Secretary, in awarding grants, to give preference to entities that: (1) demonstrate the capacity to attract private sector or local government funding to ensure fiscal sustainability; (2) address significant health disparities; (3) demonstrate coordination or collaboration across governmental and nongovernmental sectors; (4) are committed to promoting full transparency of all deliberations of the Technical Assistance Centers and Community Health Improvement Councils; and (5) are independent from government and the financial self-interest of health care and purchasers stakeholders.

Date: 2010-09-16
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to Congress on the Medicare DSH (disproportionate share hospital) payment system, taking into account the impact of the health care reforms under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), in reducing the number of uninsured individuals. Requires the Secretary to make specified adjustments to the Medicare DSH payment system, including an additional payment to hospitals based on the amount of uncompensated care they have provided, if there is a significant decrease in the national rate of uninsurance as a result of corrected PPACA. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by PPACA and HCERA, to eliminate certain current requirements for adjustments to Medicare DSH payments. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid), as amended by PPACA and HCERA, to postpone specified Medicaid DSH reductions scheduled for FY2014-FY2020 until FY2018-FY2024.

Date: 2011-01-19
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Safe Food for Seniors Act of 2011 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require the full-time director of food services at a Medicare skilled nursing facility (SNF) or a Medicaid nursing facility, if not a qualified dietitian, to be a Certified Dietary Manager meeting the requirements of the Certifying Board for Dietary Managers or have equivalent military or academic qualifications.

Date: 2011-02-08
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Help Establish Access to Local Timely Healthcare for Your Vets Act of 2011 or HEALTHY Vets Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in the case of a veteran for whom Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities are geographically inaccessible (as defined under this Act), to contract for the provision of the following care: (1) primary care; (2) acute or chronic symptom management; (3) nontherapeutic medical services; and (4) other medical services determined appropriate by the director of the appropriate VA service region, after consultation with the VA physician responsible for such veteran's primary care. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirement upon demonstrating, on an individual basis, that the costs of providing the contract care significantly outweigh the benefits of localized health care.

Date: 2011-02-09
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medicare VA Reimbursement Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), to establish a Medicare VA reimbursement program under which the HHS Secretary shall reimburse the VA Secretary, from the Medicare trust funds, for any item or service: (1) furnished to a Medicare-eligible veteran by a VA medical facility for the treatment of a non-service-connected condition; and (2) covered by Medicare or determined to be medically necessary by the VA Secretary. Requires the HHS Secretary to enter a memorandum of understanding with the VA Secretary concerning administration of the program. Specifies required conditions in the memorandum. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the program every three years. Declares the sense of Congress that the amount of funds appropriated to the VA for medical care in any fiscal year should not be reduced as a result of the implementation of the Medicare VA reimbursement program.

Date: 2011-02-18
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Meeting the Inpatient Health Care Needs of Far South Texas Veterans Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) ensure that the South Texas Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Harlingen, Texas, includes a full-service VA inpatient health care facility; and (2) if needed, modify the existing facility to meet this requirement. Requires the Secretary to report on specific actions to be taken to satisfy such requirement.

Date: 2011-02-28
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Critical Infrastructure Earthquake Preparedness Act of 2011 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to make grants to state and local governments to assist them in projects that improve the ability of trauma center hospitals and/or airports in hazardous seismic zones to withstand an earthquake. Directs the Administrator to require each state and local government, as a condition for receiving a grant, to submit to the Administrator: (1) a comprehensive strategic earthquake response plan for such facility, and (2) a list of grant activities that analyzes their impact.

Date: 2011-03-16
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Emergency management
Fix HIT Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require direct Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments to federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal the program requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to school-based health centers or their sponsoring facilities to support the operation of such health centers. Rescinds unobligated appropriations for the program.

Date: 2011-03-29
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Puerto Rico Hospital HITECH Amendments of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to apply Medicare HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) payments to subsection (d) hospitals in Puerto Rico. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Requires specified budget neutrality adjustments for FY2011-FY2012 and subsequent fiscal years so that estimated aggregate incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology are not increased as a result of this Act.

Date: 2011-03-30
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
South Texas Veterans Health Care Expansion Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in the Strategic Capital Investment Plan of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) a project to expand the VA medical facility in Far South Texas, by adding: (1) an urgent care center; (2) inpatient capability for 50 beds, with appropriate support services; (3) the capability to provide a full range of services to meet the needs of female veterans; and (4) the capability to provide caregiver support services, including respite. Requires a report from the Secretary to the congressional veterans committees identifying and outlining estimates of cost and time necessary for the completion of such project.

Date: 2011-04-01
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to deem an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital to be an inpatient with respect to satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital requirement in order to entitle the individual to Medicare coverage of any post-hospital extended care services in a skilled nursing facility (SNF).

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Urban Medicare-Dependent Hospitals Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2011, to revise the criteria and payment formula for "subsection (d) hospitals" which are urban Medicare-dependent hospitals. (Generally a subsection (d) hospital is an acute care hospital particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)

Date: 2011-04-15
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Pharmacy Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirements Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code, and part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit a group or individual health plan from entering into a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to manage the prescription drug coverage provided under such plan or to control the costs of such coverage unless the PBM satisfies the requirements of this Act. Directs a PBM to provide at least annually a report to each plan sponsor that includes information on the number and total costs of prescriptions under the contract, payments to pharmacies, payments from pharmaceutical manufacturers, and generic drugs and brand name drugs dispensed. Sets forth provisions governing the interaction between a PBM and pharmacies that contract with the PBM, including requiring a PBM to: (1) include in contracts drug pricing information and agree to provide timely updates on pricing, (2) agree to pay pharmacies promptly for clean claims, (3) not exclude qualifying pharmacies willing to accept terms and conditions of the PBM, and (4) require each pharmacy to sign a contract before assuming responsibility to fill prescriptions for the PBM. Prohibits a PBM from mandating or providing incentives to beneficiaries for use of a pharmacy in which the PBM has an ownership interest. Sets forth limits on audits of pharmacy providers by a PBM, including with respect to record keeping, appeals, and recoupment. Establishes limits and notice requirements related to PBMs selling claims or utilization data.

Date: 2011-05-24
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Alaska Hero's Card Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a two-year pilot program assessing the feasibility and advisability of carrying out a program by which certain veterans entitled to VA services residing in communities in the state of Alaska that are inaccessible by motor vehicle can, subject to exceptions, receive necessary hospital care or medical services at any hospital or medical facility or from any medical provider eligible to receive payments under: (1) titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, (2) the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program), or (3) the Indian health program. Requires the cost of any hospital care or medical service provided under the pilot program to be borne by the United States from amounts other than amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for an Indian health program. Directs the Secretary to take measures ensuring that covered veterans are not billed for hospital care and medical services received under the pilot program. Requires the Secretary, in carrying out the pilot program, to issue to each covered veteran a card to be known as an "Alaska Hero Card" that such veteran may present to an authorized provider to establish the covered veteran's eligibility for hospital care and medical services under the pilot program. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a list of authorized providers from whom a covered veteran may receive hospital care and medical services under the pilot program.

Date: 2011-06-15
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fair Competition for Hospitals Act of 2011 - Requires the wage index applying to a certain kind of subsection (d) hospital under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to be the highest wage index assigned to hospitals in the core-based statistical area in which the hospital is located (regardless of which state the hospital is located in) as a result of the requirement of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that the area wage index applicable to any hospital which is not located in a rural area be not less than the area wage index applicable to hospitals located in rural areas in the state in which the hospital is located. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Limits the application of this Act to a subsection (d) hospital: (1) located in a core-based statistical area comprising counties from more than one state, but (2) not located in a core-based statistical area in which one or more hospitals are subject to a specified minimum wage index, and (3) not located in a core-based statistical area in which the highest wage index applies to hospitals covered by this Act under a state Medicare reimbursement system.

Date: 2011-06-21
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, to prescribe a special rule for applying Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote inpatient locations. Prohibits administrative or judicial review of: (1) the methodology and standards for determining a remote inpatient location, a qualified remote inpatient location, a component facility, a qualified component facility, a main provider, and a qualified main provider, and which such locations, facilities, and providers are qualified; and (2) the methodology and standards for the election in connection with such special rule. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to set forth a special rule for applying Medicaid EHR incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote locations.

Date: 2011-07-12
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Nursing Home Patient Protection and Standards Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require testing programs in skilled nursing facility (SNF) survey and certification techniques to be sufficiently rigorous to ensure that surveyors are adequately prepared to survey and certify SNFs in a consistent and accurate manner. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish requirements: (1) for the qualification and compensation of members of a survey team, and (2) that a state employs an adequate number of individuals as members of survey teams to ensure adequate oversight of SNFs. Requires the Secretary, in addition to the training and testing program, to require that state and federal surveyors regularly complete an adequate number of continuing education courses meeting certain requirements for content and rigor of material. Requires covered individuals to report to the Secretary instances where surveys fail to report or under report an issue in a facility that could impact the safety or quality of care of its residents. Adds whistleblower protections for such individuals. Adds penalties for inappropriately influencing a surveyor. Requires the Secretary to establish an advisory committee on surveys. Requires survey team supervisors to review each conducted survey to ensure that any identified issues affecting quality of care are consistently and appropriately described and rated.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Physician Availability Act of 2011 - Requires each covered hospital to have a qualified physician available in the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to attend to the needs of the hospital's inpatients. Defines a "covered hospital" to: (1) include hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid or receiving federal funds, and (2) exclude hospitals in a federal facility or hospitals that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines have fewer than 100 licensed beds. Considers a physician to be available if: (1) the physician is physically present in the hospital; (2) the physician's primary responsibility is to be in attendance to serve the needs of the hospital's inpatients without delay; and (3) the physician is not physically present in, assigned to, serving in, or expected to cover the hospital's emergency room or emergency department. Sets forth penalties for violations.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Rural Health Care Capital Access Act of 2011 - Amends the National Housing Act to extend from July 31, 2011 to July 31, 2016, the exemption for critical access hospitals from the limit on patient days customarily assignable to specified categories of care under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (Federal Housing Administration [FHA]) hospital mortgage insurance program.

Date: 2011-07-18
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Housing and community development
Health IT Modernization for Underserved Communities Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend to physician assistants eligibility for Medicaid electronic health record incentive payments, regardless of whether or not such physician assistants practice at a rural health center or federally qualified health center.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Cancer Centers Assistance for Renovations and Expansion Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program that provides loans to qualifying cancer centers for payment of the capital costs of projects for the improvement of research, prevention, or patient care infrastructure. Sets the maximum amount of such loans at: (1) $50 million for any cancer center or comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute, and (2) $100 million for any entity that is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a cancer hospital meeting certain requirements for a subsection (d) hospital. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
CAH Designation Waiver Authority Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare rural hospital flexibility program and the "35-mile requirement" for designation of a critical access hospital (CAH) that a facility be located in a rural area more than 35 miles (or 15 miles in mountainous terrain or where only secondary roads are available) from another CAH. (A CAH is a hospital certified to receive cost-based reimbursement from Medicare.) Prohibits a state from designating a facility as a CAH unless: (1) it was assigned a Medicare provider number as an acute inpatient hospital before enactment of this Act, and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines that such designation would not result in the total number of facilities so designated in all states on or after enactment of this Act being greater than 10% of the total number of acute inpatient hospitals designated as CAHs in all states as of March 31, 2011.

Date: 2011-10-14
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Partial Hospitalization Stabilization and Intregity Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish: (1) a payment system for partial hospitalization services, and (2) quality service criteria to measure the performance of providers of such services.

Date: 2011-11-16
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Help Our Hospitals Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care Education Reconciliation Act of 2011, to repeal their reductions to Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) payments for FY2015 and ensuing fiscal years, especially to subsection (d) hospitals, to reflect lower uncompensated care costs relative to increases in the number of insured. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)

Date: 2011-12-12
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Hospital Admissions in Need of Study Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to delay implementation of the Medicare hospital readmissions reduction program for five years from the start of FY2012 to the start of FY2017. Prohibits expansion of applicable conditions (for which readmissions are high volume or highly expensive) except to the extent specified in a subsequent law. Requires a report on the potential impact of the reduction program.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Veterans Access to Care Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to designate medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as health professional shortage areas. Requires, for eligibility to participate in the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program and the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, that an individual not be participating in the VA's Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in carrying out the National Health Service Corps Program, to consult with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding health professional shortage areas that are VA medical facilities.

Date: 2012-02-15
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Puerto Rico Hospital Medicare Reimbursement Equity Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the Medicare inpatient hospital services payment rate for Puerto Rico hospitals to: (1) reduce the applicable Puerto Rico percentage from 25% to zero, and (2) increase the applicable federal percentage from 75% to 100%.

Date: 2012-02-16
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Hospital Price Transparency and Disclosure Act of 2011 [sic] - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require a hospital or ambulatory surgical center to report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding: (1) the frequency of occurrence of certain treatment episodes for the most frequently treated conditions or diseases in each setting, (2) the total number of treatment episodes for which care was furnished by the hospital or center, and (3) the insured and uninsured average charge by the hospital or center for such treatment episode.  Requires the Secretary to promptly post such information on the HHS website in a manner that promotes charge comparisons among hospitals and among ambulatory surgical centers. Requires a hospital and an ambulatory surgical center to prominently post at each admission site a notice of the availability of such data.  Authorizes civil penalties for violations of this Act.

Date: 2012-05-10
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Rural Hospital Access Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend through FY2013: (1) the current methodology for payment to subsection (d) hospitals for inpatient hospital services furnished to individuals under the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital (MDH) program, and (2) increased payments under the Medicare program for low-volume hospitals (with under 1,600 annual discharges). (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the Comptroller General to study such programs.

Date: 2012-06-08
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, as amended by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, to treat a critical access hospital as rural, notwithstanding the reclassification of its location county as an urban county ("Lugar county") under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, in order to permit pass-through payment for the reasonable costs of certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) services. Counts on-call and standby costs for such services as reasonable CRNA costs.

Date: 2012-07-18
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
National Pediatric Research Network Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in carrying out the Pediatric Research Initiative, to act through the Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to provide for the establishment of a National Pediatric Research Network. Authorizes the Director of the Institute to award funding to public or private nonprofit entities for: (1) planning, establishing, or strengthening pediatric research consortia; and (2) providing basic operating support for such consortia, including to meet unmet needs for pediatric research and train researchers in pediatric research techniques. Authorizes the Director of NIH to make awards for not more than 20 pediatric research consortia, which are to be formed from a collaboration of cooperating institutions, coordinated by a lead institution, and meet requirements prescribed by the Director of NIH. Allows such support to be for a period of five years with additional extensions by the Director of NIH. Requires the Director of NIH to provide for the coordination of activities among the consortia and to require the periodic preparation and submission of reports on their activities. Requires the Director of NIH to ensure that an appropriate number of such awards are awarded to consortia that agree to: (1) focus primarily on pediatric rare diseases or conditions; (2) conduct or coordinate multi-site clinical trials of therapies for, or approaches to, the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of pediatric rare diseases or conditions; and (3) rapidly and efficiently disseminate scientific findings from such trials. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a data coordinating center to: (1) distribute such findings; (2) provide assistance in the design and conduct of collaborative research projects and the management, analysis, and storage of data associated with such projects; (3) organize and conduct multi-site monitoring activities; and (4) provide assistance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the establishment or expansion of patient registries and other surveillance systems. Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) require the data coordinating center to provide regular reports to the Director of NIH and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) on research conducted by consortia, including information on enrollment in clinical trials and the allocation of resources with respect to such research; and (2) incorporate such information into NIH's biennial reports.

Date: 2012-07-19
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Code to repeal establishment of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program through which the Secretary provides loans and grants to foster the creation of qualified nonprofit health insurance issuers to offer qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets. Rescinds unobligated funds made available for the program. Requires repayment of loans provided under the program within two years of their making and sets the interest rate on such loans at the bank prime rate. 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. Allows qualified nonprofit health insurance issuers participating in the CO-OP to sponsor an AHP, if certain requirements are satisfied. Prescribes rules governing AHPs, including requirements relating to certification, sponsors and boards of trustees, participation and coverage, nondiscrimination, contribution rates, notice of voluntary termination, correction actions, and mandatory termination. Establishes the Association Health Plan Fund to be used by the Secretary of Labor to make payments to an insurer to maintain coverage for a plan if there is a reasonable expectation that, without such payments, claims would not be satisfied by reason of termination of coverage. Requires the Secretary to establish a Solvency Standards Working Group. Allows a state to impose a contribution tax on an association health plan that commenced operations in such state after the enactment of this Act. Preempts any state law that may preclude a health insurance issuer from: (1) offering health insurance coverage in connection with a certified AHP; or (2) offering health insurance coverage of the same policy type to other employers operating in the state that are eligible for coverage under such AHPs, whether or not such other employers are participating employers in such plan. Subjects to criminal penalties a person who willfully makes false representations with respect to an AHP.

Date: 2012-08-02
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health
Improving Diagnostic Innovations Act of 2012 - Sets forth additional factors for the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider in determining the payment amount for new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests under gap filling procedures which are used when no comparable existing test is available. Directs the Secretary to convene an independent advisory panel to inform and make recommendations to the Secretary regarding any new test. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a process for application for the assignment of a temporary national HCPCS (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System) code to uniquely identify a diagnostic test until a permanent national HCPCS code is available for assignment to that test, (2) analyze the process used for the gapfilling procedures used in determining payment amounts for new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests, and (3) implement improvements in the process after public notice and opportunity for comment.

Date: 2012-09-20
Topic: Health (Medical Facilities)
Subject: Health