zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process under which the number of additional documentation requests made by a Medicare contractor pursuant to a complex prepayment or postpayment audit with respect to a hospital's Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) claims in a year may not exceed, across all such contractors with respect to the hospital's claims, the lesser of: (1) 2% of all such claims for such year, or (2) 500 additional documentation requests during any 45-day period. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare Integrity Program and use of recovery audit contractors. Requires the Secretary to ensure that recovery audit contracts include certain mandatory terms and conditions pertaining to: (1) penalties for certain compliance failures, (2) penalties for overturned appeals, (3) postpayment and prepayment audits, and (4) guidelines for prepayment review. Directs the Secretary to publish on the Internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information on recovery audit contractor performance regarding: (1) audit rates, denials, and appeals outcomes; and (2) independent performance evaluations. Prohibits the Secretary, in conducting the Medicare Part A and Part B Rebilling Demonstration, from prohibiting any appeal by a hospital of any finding by a recovery audit contractor that an inpatient admission was not reasonably and medically necessary. Deems to be an original claim for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) payment a resubmitted hospital claim for Medicare part A payment for inpatient hospital services which a recovery audit contractor determines: (1) were not medically necessary and reasonable based on the site of service, but (2) would be medically necessary and reasonable in an outpatient setting of the hospital. Requires payment to be made for such a resubmitted claim for all furnished items and services for which payment may be made under Medicare part B. Deems to be a reopened claim, for purposes of a hospital's ability to resubmit a claim for Medicare payment in timely fashion, any claim that is the subject of an audit by a recovery audit contractor or a Medicare administrative contractor. Requires contracts for a recovery audit contractor to require that a physician review each denial of a claim for medical necessity made by an employee of the contractor who is not a physician.

Date: 2012-10-16
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Veterans Dental and Vision Benefits Act of 2012 - Provides that, if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that a veteran who is enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system and obtaining supplemental dental or vision coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) is unable to pay the FEHBP premiums for such coverage because of financial hardship, such veteran shall not be responsible for such premiums. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide outreach to inform eligible veterans of the availability of such coverage, and (2) report every three years over a nine-year period to Congress on the implementation of providing such coverage to such veterans.

Date: 2012-10-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Equity for Clinical Social Workers Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for reimbursement of covered clinical social worker services according to a new reimbursement methodology similar to the one currently used for other health care professionals. Provides coverage and reimbursement under the new methodology for supplies furnished incident to such services. Excludes the services of clinical social workers from the definition of "inpatient hospital services" for purposes of Medicare.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to 6% the rate of increase in the fee schedule for ground ambulance services furnished between January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2018, in rural and urban areas. Extends to January 1, 2018, the increase in the base rate of the fee schedule the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to make for a trip in the case of ground ambulance services furnished on or after July 1, 2004, for which the transportation originates in a qualified low population density rural area.

Date: 2011-03-01
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) to make neurologists eligible as primary care physicians for Medicare primary care incentive payments.

Date: 2011-03-16
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Safe Needle Disposal Coverage Act of 2011 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover as a part D drug any devices approved for home use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the safe and effective containment, removal, decontamination, and disposal of home-generated needles, syringes, and other sharps through a sharps container, decontamination/destructive device, or sharps-by-mail program or similar program.

Date: 2011-04-05
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Family Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income-based tax credit for 50% of qualified infertility treatment expenses. Allows $13,360 of such expenses to be taken into account for purposes of such credit for all taxable years. Defines "qualified infertility treatment expenses" as amounts paid for the treatment of infertility via in vitro fertilization if such treatment is provided by a licensed physician, surgeon, or other medical practitioner and is administered with respect to a diagnosis of infertility by a physician licensed in the United States.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Taxation
Medicare Patient Empowerment Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow any Medicare beneficiary to enter into a contract with a non-participating (as well as with a participating) physician or practitioner for any item or service covered by Medicare. Allows such beneficiaries to submit a claim for Medicare payment in the amount that would otherwise apply if the claim had been filed by a participating physician or practitioner in the payment area where the physician or practitioner covered by the contract resides. Requires a Medicare beneficiary to agree in writing in such a contract to: (1) pay the physician or practitioner for a Medicare-covered item or service; and (2) submit (in lieu of the physician or practitioner) a claim for Medicare payment. Allows a beneficiary, however, to negotiate, as a term of the contract, for the physician or practitioner to file such claims on the beneficiary's behalf. Preempts state laws from limiting the amount of charges for physician and practitioner services for which Medicare payment is made.

Date: 2011-05-23
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2011 - 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: 2011-05-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Preservation of Access to Osteoporosis Testing for Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend through 2013 the minimum payment amount for dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) services for bone mass measurement.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Veterans Telemedicine Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a program of: (1) teleconsultation for the provision of remote mental health and traumatic brain injury assessments in facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that are not otherwise able to provide such assessments without contracting with third party providers or reimbursing providers through a fee basis system, and (2) teleretinal imaging in each Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN). Requires the Secretary to modify the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system to provide incentives for such programs, telemedicine, and telehealth coordination services. Defines: (1) "teleconsultation" as the use of telecommunications by a health care specialist to assist another health care provider in rendering a diagnosis or treatment; (2) "teleretinal imaging" as the use by a health care specialist of telecommunications, digital retinal imaging, and remote image interpretation to provide eye care; and (3) "telehealth" as the use of telecommunications to collect patient data remotely and send data to a monitoring station for interpretation. Directs the Secretary to require each VA facility involved in training medical residents to work with each university concerned to develop an elective rotation in telemedicine for such residents.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act of 2011 - Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 to require a program under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides chiropractic care and services to veterans through Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and clinics to be carried out at: (1) no fewer than 75 medical centers by December 31, 2012; and (2) all medical centers by December 31, 2014. Includes chiropractic examinations and services within required VA medical, rehabilitative, and preventive health care services.

Date: 2011-06-06
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Diagnosis and Treatment Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement a hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT, a vascular genetic bleeding disorder that causes abnormalities of the blood vessels) initiative to assist in coordinating activities to improve early detection, screening, and treatment of people who suffer from HHT, focusing on advancing research on the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of HHT and increasing physician and public awareness of HHT. Directs the Secretary to establish the HHT Coordinating Committee to develop and coordinate implementation of a plan to advance research and understanding of HHT, including by: (1) conducting or supporting research across relevant National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes, and (2) conducting evaluations and making recommendations regarding the prioritization and award of NIH research grants relating to HHT. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to carry out activities with respect to HHT, including conducting population screening and establishing an HHT resource center to provide comprehensive education on, and disseminate information about, HHT to health professionals, patients, industry, and the public. Sets forth requirements for HHT population screening, including requiring the Director of CDC to designate and provide funding for HHT Treatment Centers of Excellence. Requires the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to award grants for: (1) an analysis of the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MEDPAR) file to develop preliminary estimates on the totals costs to Medicare for items, services, and treatments for HHT; and (2) recommendations regarding an enhanced data collection protocol to permit a more precise determination of such costs.

Date: 2011-06-09
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage to custom fabricated breast prostheses after a mastectomy.

Date: 2011-06-16
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Equity and Access for Podiatric Physicians Under Medicaid Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.

Date: 2011-06-30
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Physician Pathology Services Continuity Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), with regard to a laboratory-furnished technical component of certain physician pathology services, to treat such component as a service for which payment shall be made to the laboratory, and not as an inpatient hospital or hospital outpatient service for which payment is made to the hospital.

Date: 2011-12-08
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Senior Medicare Fairness Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for plan year 2013 and subsequent plan years with respect to payments to Medicare + Choice organizations for original fee-for-service benefits under a specialized Medicare Advantage plan for special needs individuals that: (1) offers integrated Medicare and Medicaid services under contract with the state agency under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) is offered by a Medicare Advantage organization that as of January 1, 2010, had a contract with such state Medicaid agency that participated in the "Demonstrations Serving Those Dually-Eligible for Medicare and Medicaid." Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to apply the frailty adjustment under payment rules for programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE) rather than those which would otherwise apply for plan enrollees.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Access to Independent Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to exclude remuneration paid for licensed independent insurance producers from administrative cost calculations for purposes of calculating the medical-loss ratio of a health insurance plan. Defines "independent insurance producer" to mean an insurance agent or broker, insurance consultant, benefit specialist, limited insurance representative, and any other person required to be licensed under the laws of the particular state to sell, solicit, negotiate, service, effect, procure, renew, or bind policies of insurance coverage or offer advice, counsel, opinions, or services related to insurance.

Date: 2012-02-02
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Excellence in Mental Health Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to set forth criteria for the certification of federally-qualified community behavioral health centers. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to make such centers eligible for payments for services under Medicaid. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award matching grants to states or Indian tribes to expend funds for the construction or modernization of facilities used to provide mental health and substance abuse services to individuals. Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the 340B drug discount program (a program limiting the cost of covered outpatient drugs to certain federal grantees) to allow participation by entities providing community mental health services or providing treatment services for substance abuse.

Date: 2012-03-29
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Chiropractors Equity Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow chiropractors to provide items and services through private contracts.

Date: 2012-04-19
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Access to Physicians in Medicare Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payment for physicians' services to require that, in lieu of the update to the single conversion factor that would otherwise apply for 2013 and thereafter, the update to the single conversion factor for each such year be the lesser of: (1) the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the year; and (2) 3.0%. (Thus repeals the Medicare sustainable growth rate formula.) Repeals as of its date of enactment any provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), or any amendment made by it, that amends or authorizes a program or activity with respect to the Medicaid program under SSA title XIX or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) under SSA title XXI, except for certain program integrity and transparency requirements. Repeals PPACA title I, relating to health care access and coverage, and restores or revives the provisions of law amended or repealed by title I as if title I had not been enacted. Repeals provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 related to: (1) amendments to the Internal Revenue Code regarding health care coverage, including establishment in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of a Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund; and (2) Medicaid. Requires the use of any reduced federal expenditures resulting from this Act to reduce the federal deficit.

Date: 2012-06-25
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Recruiting Individuals to Drive Our Elders Act of 2012 or RIDE Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish an interim final rule to revise certain Medicaid transportation regulations to allow a state plan under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide, at state option, reimbursement for costs attributable to providing no-load volunteer travel services to Medicaid-eligible individuals who require transportation to receive non-emergency medical treatment.

Date: 2012-09-20
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medical Practice Freedom Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) or any state from requiring any health care provider to participate in any health plan as a condition of the provider's licensure in any state.

Date: 2013-03-05
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Health Information Technology Reform Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to exclude pathologists from Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments and, in particular, penalties relating to the meaningful use of electronic health records.

Date: 2013-03-21
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Disabled Veterans Red Tape Reduction Act - Amends the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 to extend through 2018 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) authority for the performance of medical disability evaluations by contract physicians.

Date: 2013-04-12
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Health IT Modernization for Underserved Communities Act of 2013 - 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 that is led by a physician assistant or in a federally qualified health center.

Date: 2013-04-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Enhanced Access to Medicaid Services Act of 2013 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to apply the Medicaid primary care payment rate in 2013 and 2014 to additional physicians with a primary specialty designation of neurology, psychiatry, or obstetrics and gynecology.

Date: 2013-05-06
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicaid Accountability and Care Act of 2013 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise payments to states under the Medicaid program, including granting an option to receive Medicare payments for full-benefit dual eligible individuals (who are eligible for Medicare benefits under SSA title XVIII as well as Medicaid).

Date: 2013-05-07
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Expediting Veteran's Benefits Act - Amends the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 to extend through 2016 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) authority for the performance of medical disability evaluations by contract physicians.

Date: 2013-05-21
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Diagnostic Innovation Testing and Knowledge Advancement Act of 2013 - 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 gapfilling 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.

Requires the Secretary to justify publicly the basis and rate determination for any payments made under the clinical laboratory fee schedule for new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests, including a detailed summary of information received regarding the additional factors considered. Requires the Secretary then, after publishing such justification, to provide for a reasonable period of reconsideration to: (1) receive any appeal of the payment determination, and (2) evaluate any additional information received regarding the justification and the factors considered.

Requires the Secretary, following the period of reconsideration, to make a final payment basis and payment rate determination, providing a justification for it with an explanation of what additional information was evaluated during reconsideration and how it was taken into account. 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.

Applies this Act to payment basis and payment rate determinations made on or after January 1, 2013.

Date: 2013-05-22
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Accuracy in Medicare Physician Payment Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and appoint an expert outside advisory panel for purposes of providing oversight to the processes relating to valuation of physicians' services.

Date: 2013-06-27
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Patient Access to Cancer Treatment Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that, to ensure the future of community cancer care, Medicare reimbursement should be equal for the same service provided to a cancer patient regardless of whether the service is delivered in the hospital outpatient department (OPD) or physician's office.

Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the prospective payment system (PPS) for OPD services to require that the payment amount under PPS and physician fee schedules for covered OPD cancer services be a budget neutral combination of the amount otherwise payable under the PPS and the amount otherwise payable under the physician fee schedule for such services.

Date: 2013-07-31
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Protecting Access to Primary Care Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives payment for primary care services furnished in 2013 and 2014 at a rate not less than 100% of the Medicare payment rate applicable to physician for such services.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2013 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians.

(Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the requirement that state plans for medical assistance pay for covered prenatal or preventive pediatric care services, or other covered services provided to an individual on whose behalf a state agency is enforcing child support, without regard to a third party's liability for payment for such services, and then seek reimbursement from the third party.

Requires a state plan to require any contract with a managed care entity to specify whether the state is: (1) delegating to the entity all or some of its right of recovery for payment of an item or service, and (2) transferring to the entity all or some of the assignment to the state of any right of an individual or other entity to payment from a health insurer for an item or service.

Requires any state that makes such a delegation or transfer to have in effect laws requiring such health insurers, as a condition of doing business, to: (1) provide the managed care entity certain information upon request; (2) accept the delegated right of recovery and the transferred assignment of rights; and (3) agree not to deny a claim submitted by a managed care entity, for which the state has delegated or transferred rights, in the same manner that the insurer may not deny a claim submitted by a state.

 Requires the state plan of any state that contracts with a health insurer to require that any contract of the health insurer with a pharmacy benefit manager to manage benefits under the insurer's health plan shall require that the pharmacy benefit manager regularly report to the state any relevant data it obtains to assist the state in determining whether the insurer is legally responsible for paying a claim for a health care item or service available under the plan.

Requires such a contract also to require the insurer to cooperate with the state Medicaid plan for the proper coordination of benefits offered in order to effectuate the principle of the Medicaid program's being the payer of last resort.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and make available to the states a model uniform reporting field that states may use for reporting to the Secretary within CME Form 64 (or any successor form) information identifying third-party health insurers and other relevant information for ascertaining the legal responsibility of such third parties to pay for care and services under Medicaid.

Requires the Secretary to apply the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for the state in determining the amount, if any, of any overpayment with respect to Medicaid services for newly eligible individuals.

Prescribes an administrative penalty for non-compliance with the additional Medicaid requirements imposed by this Act.

Date: 2013-12-05
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prohibit any funds under a grant to a state for establishing an American Health Benefit Exchange from being used for a bonus or pay increase for a chief executive officer, chief information officer, chief operating officer, or similar executive with respect to the operation of such an Exchange on or after October 1, 2013.

Date: 2013-12-09
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2013 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and federal civil service law relating to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to cover qualified acupuncturist services.

Date: 2013-12-19
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services under which a physician must certify that a patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.

Date: 2014-02-04
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to restrict civil monetary penalties for inducements to physicians to limit services to services that are medically necessary only. (Thus eliminates such penalties for inducements to physicians to limit services that are not medically necessary.)

Date: 2014-05-13
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Protect Patient Access and Promote Hospital Efficiency Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, physician assistants, and certified nurse-midwives who order inpatient hospital services to certify their medical necessity for payment under the Medicare program.

Date: 2014-05-15
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Doctors Helping Heroes Act of 2014 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to make permanent the J-1 visa waiver program (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas).

Excludes from numerical immigration limitations alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before enactment of this Act and any of their spouses or children).

Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas.

Increases the number of alien physicians that a state may be allocated from 30 to 35 per fiscal year in specified circumstances. Provides for additional increases or decreases based upon demand.

Provides up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers.

Permits dual intent for an alien coming to the United States to receive graduate medical education or training, or to take examinations required for graduate medical education or training.

Exempts from specified entry limitations H-1B nonimmigrant aliens seeking to enter the United States to pursue graduate medical education or training.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement for an alien who has received graduate medical eduction or training in the United States and seeks to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent resident status if:

 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines that VA facilities are not capable of furnishing covered health services to eligible veterans because they lack the required personnel or cannot provide timely and reasonable access; and the head of the appropriate state agency determines that the alien will practice medicine in a Veterans Health Administration facility, the alien physician's work is in the public interest, and such waiver would not cause the number of waivers allotted for that state for that fiscal year to exceed five.

Date: 2014-06-24
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Immigration
Access to Care and Treatment Now for Veterans Act or the ACT Now for Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse any non-VA medical provider, including such a provider who has not been pre-approved by the Secretary, who furnishes covered hospital care or medical services to an eligible veteran.

Defines "covered hospital care or medical services" as hospital care or medical services for which the veteran is eligible under the VA health care program. Defines an "eligible veteran" as a veteran who: (1) is enrolled in the VA patient enrollment system and provides a VA identification card or proof of such enrollment, (2) is eligible to receive hospital care or medical services furnished by the Secretary, and (3) has been unable to schedule an appointment at a VA facility to receive such care or services within 30 days of the date preferred by the veteran.

Terminates the authority under this Act: (1) one year after this Act's enactment if the Secretary certifies that the Veterans Health Administration is meeting wait-time goals, or (2) two years after this Act's enactment if the Secretary has not submitted such certification.

Date: 2014-07-17
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans' Credit Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) conduct outreach to inform veterans of how to resolve credit issues caused by a delayed payment (i.e., a proper invoice that is not paid by the Secretary until after the required payment date); and (2) establish a toll-free telephone number for veterans to report such issues to the Veterans Integrated Service Networks.

Requires the Secretary to report annually on the effectiveness of each Network in providing timely payment of proper invoices during both the preceding five-year period and the preceding one-year period. Requires such report to include:

 the number of veterans who contacted the Secretary regarding delayed payments that could negatively affect their credit; the total amount of interest penalties paid by the Secretary by reason of delayed payments; the number of proper invoices submitted, the amount owed for and the payment status of such invoices, and the periods that elapsed before such invoices were paid; any comments regarding delayed payments made by medical providers; identification of the Networks with the least and most delayed payments; and a description of the best practices to provide timely payment of a proper invoice, including a plan for under-performing Networks to improve. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study that compares the effectiveness of Networks in providing timely payment of proper invoices.

Date: 2014-07-24
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Audiology Patient Choice Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the coverage of audiology services to treat as physicians qualified audiologists authorized by the state and acting within the scope of their license to furnish such services.

Enables Medicare beneficiaries to choose a qualified audiologist without regard to any requirement to be under the care of (or referred by) a physician or other health care practitioner, or that services be provided under the supervision of a physician or other health care practitioner.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicaid Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend through 2019: (1) Medicaid payment parity with Medicare for primary care services furnished under the Medicaid program, and (2) the increased (to 100%) federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP, or federal matching rate) for additional payments for primary care services.

Date: 2014-07-31
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in specifying the electronic health record (EHR) reporting period under EHR electronic health record technology incentive payment programs under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, to continue through 2015 (in the case of eligible professionals) and FY2015 (in the case of eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals) to permit the use of a three-month quarter EHR reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use without regard to the payment year or the stage of meaningful use criteria involved.

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's authority to employ certain personnel without regard to civil service or classification laws, rules, or regulations to employ physicians on a without compensation basis in any practice area or specialty for which: (1) the average waiting time for veterans seeking an appointment with a physician exceeds the VA's waiting time goals, or (2) the VA facility where the physician will be employed has demonstrated staffing shortages.

Requires each VA medical facility to have a volunteer coordinator who: (1) seeks to establish relationships with medical associations serving the area, (2) recruits physicians for uncompensated employment at the facility, and (3) serves as the initial point of contact for physicians seeking uncompensated employment at the facility.

Conditions an uncompensated physician's receipt of a credential or privilege to practice medicine in a VA facility on the physician's commitment to serve at least 40 hours in the facility during the ensuing 12-month period.

Requires the Secretary to decide whether to grant an uncompensated physician's request for a credential or privilege to practice medicine in the VA facility within 60 days.

Requires the director of a VA medical facility to approve, and accept the uncompensated services of, any physician who has made the requisite service commitment and receives a credential or privilege to practice medicine in such facility.

Date: 2014-11-12
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that the primary care services furnished in 2015 and 2016 by a physician with a primary specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine, or pediatric medicine be paid at a rate that is not less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to such services and physician under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).

Extends this 100% of Medicare payment floor under certain conditions to the following providers, who are self-attested as Board-certified and at least 60% of whose services billed for under Medicaid must be for primary care services: (1) physicians with a primary specialty designation of obstetrics and gynecology; (2) advanced practice clinicians; (3) rural health clinics, federally-qualified health centers, or other specified health clinics; and (4) nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or certified nurse-midwives.

Excludes from coverage of primary care services any such services provided in an emergency department of a hospital.

Date: 2014-11-17
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs.

Date: 2013-02-26
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Enhanced Access to Medicaid Services Act of 2013 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to apply the Medicaid primary care payment rate in 2013 and 2014 to additional physicians with a primary specialty designation of neurology, psychiatry, or obstetrics and gynecology.

Date: 2013-04-17
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Ambulance Access Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend through December 31, 2018, certain temporary increases in rates (add-on payments) for ground and super rural ambulance services.

Date: 2013-07-31
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) on a reasonable cost basis for anesthesia services furnished by a physician who is an anesthesiologist in certain rural hospitals in the same manner as payment is made for anesthesia services furnished by a certified registered nurse anesthetist in such hospitals.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Amends the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 to extend until December 31, 2016, the authority of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide for persons other than VA employees (i.e., contract physicians) to conduct medical disability examinations of applicants for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Permits licensed, VA-contracted physicians to conduct such examinations at any location in any state, the District of Columbia, or a Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, so long as the examination is authorized under the contract.

Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1996 to provide similar authorities with respect to permissible examination locations to licensed physicians under the pilot program authorizing the VA to use contract physicians to perform medical disability examinations of applicants for benefits under laws carried out through the Under Secretary for Benefits. Expands from 10 to 15 the maximum number of VA regional offices through which the Secretary is authorized to carry out such pilot program. Sets forth criteria for the selection of such regional offices.

Directs the Secretary to conduct an annual data analysis (including an analysis of backlogged claims, pending workloads, and the timeliness of completed cases) to determine the regional offices requiring support.

Date: 2013-11-20
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Medicare Access Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a minimum payment rate for primary care services furnished in 2015 and 2016 by a primary care physician (in family medicine, general internal medicine, or geriatric medicine).

Date: 2014-03-31
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Safeguarding Care Of Patients Everywhere Act or SCOPE Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal the requirement that qualified health plans contract only with health care providers, including hospitals with more than 50 beds, that implement a specified patient safety evaluation system and health care quality mechanisms required by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Date: 2014-05-01
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to appoint licensed hearing aid specialists in the Veterans Health Administration.

Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report on: (1) timely access of veterans to hearing health services through the VA, and (2) contracting policies of the VA with respect to providing hearing health services to veterans in non-VA facilities.

Date: 2014-05-08
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Veterans Emergency Health Care Safety Net Expansion Act of 2014 - Eliminates the requirement limiting reimbursement for emergency treatment in a non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility to veterans who are active participants in the VA's health care system. Requires the veteran to be an enrollee in the VA's patient enrollment system.

Treats the VA as a participating provider for purposes of allowing the VA to recover the costs it incurs in providing care to a veteran for a non-service connected disability that is covered under the veteran's health plan contract.

Date: 2014-06-12
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that the primary care services furnished in 2015 and 2016 by a physician with a primary specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine, or pediatric medicine be paid at a rate that is not less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to such services and physician under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).

Extends this 100% of Medicare payment floor under certain conditions to the following providers, who are self-attested as Board-certified and at least 60% of whose services billed for under Medicaid must be for primary care services: (1) physicians with a primary specialty designation of obstetrics and gynecology; (2) advanced practice clinicians; (3) rural health clinics, federally-qualified health centers, or other specified health clinics; and (4) nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or certified nurse-midwives.

Excludes from coverage of primary care services any such services provided in an emergency department of a hospital.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2014 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians.

(Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)

Date: 2014-09-16
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Medicare DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive acquisition program.

Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from accepting a bid from an entity for an area unless it: (1) meets state licensure requirements for the area for all items in the submitted bid for a product category, and (2) has obtained a bid surety bond of between $50,000 and $100,000 for each such area.

Prescribes requirements for the treatment of losing bidders and successful bidders that do not accept a contract.

Date: 2014-12-04
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Ensuring Enhanced Access to Primary Care Act - Extends through calendar 2016 the requirement that state plans under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act provide for payment of 100% of the payment rate for primary care services.

Adds physicians with primary specialties in neurology, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology to the types of those eligible for reimbursement for providing such services.

Date: 2014-12-11
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health
Flexibility in Health IT Reporting (Flex-IT) Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in specifying the electronic health record (EHR) reporting period under EHR electronic health record technology incentive payment programs under titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, to continue through 2015 (in the case of eligible professionals) and FY2015 (in the case of eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals) to permit the use of a three-month quarter EHR reporting period to demonstrate meaningful use without regard to the payment year or the stage of meaningful use criteria involved.

Date: 2015-01-12
Topic: Health (Insurance Providers)
Subject: Health