zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2011 - Requires each state educational agency, in order to be eligible to receive funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in FY2013 or subsequent fiscal years, to issue regulations establishing the following minimum requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions. Requires each local educational agency in the state to develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management that includes: (1) the education of students, parents, and school personnel about concussions; (2) supports for students recovering from a concussion; and (3) best practices designed to ensure the uniformity of safety standards, treatment, and management. Requires each public elementary and secondary school to post on school grounds and make publicly available on the school website information on concussions, including information on risks, responses, symptoms, and effects. Requires public school personnel who suspect that a student has sustained a concussion during a school-sponsored activity to: (1) remove the student from the activity and prohibit such student from participating in school athletic activities until the student submits a written release from a health care professional; and (2) report to the student's parent or guardian regarding such injury and the treatment provided. Prohibits a student who has sustained a concussion in a school-sponsored athletic activity from resuming participation in school-sponsored athletic or academic activities until the school receives a written release from a health care professional that: (1) states that the student is capable of resuming participation; and (2) may require the student to follow a plan designed to aid such individual in recovering and resuming participation in a manner that is coordinated with periods of cognitive and physical rest, and that reintroduces cognitive and physical demands on a progressive basis, based on the student's symptoms.

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Education
Healthy Children Through School Nutrition Education Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require local educational agencies participating in the school lunch or breakfast programs to include in their school wellness policies the requirement that each student receive 50 hours of nutrition education each school year. Requires such instruction to meet specified standards, including that it is consistent with nutritional requirements for food served under the school lunch, school breakfast, and child and adult care food programs.

Date: 2011-02-09
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Education
NSP Termination Act - Rescinds and cancels permanently all unobligated balances remaining available, as of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for assistance to states and local governments for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed homes and residential properties. (Thus, rescinds the third round of funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program [NSP].) Urges that all such rescinded and canceled amounts be retained in the Treasury General Fund for reducing the federal budget deficit. Subjects to possible rescission and permanent cancellation certain amounts allocated by the Secretary under the third round of funding for the NSP to specified states, including city, county, and municipal governments. Amends the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to repeal emergency FY2008 appropriations for the Program. States that such appropriations, together with amounts made available for the Program in the HUD, Community Planning and Development, Community Development Fund under title XII of division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, shall continue to be governed by any provisions of law applicable to such amounts as in effect before the repeal. Requires the Secretary to terminate the Program upon the obligation of all such amounts and outlays to liquidate them. Requires the Secretary to publish on the HUD website a statement as to: (1) termination of the NSP; and (2) the availability of a Member of Congress and state, county, and local officials to provide assistance in mitigating the impacts of foreclosed properties on an individual's community. Requires the Comptroller General to study the economic impacts of: (1) round three NSP funding on states and communities that would occur if it were not rescinded and canceled but remained available, and (2) actual round one and round two NSP assistance on those states and communities.

Date: 2011-03-01
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Housing and community development
Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act of 2011- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow self-employed individuals to deduct health insurance costs in computing the tax on self-employment income.

Date: 2011-03-02
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Taxation
Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), which shall establish units to enhance border security by addressing and reducing border security threats and violence by: (1) facilitating collaboration among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies to execute coordinated activities in furtherance of border security and homeland security; and (2) enhancing information-sharing, including the dissemination of homeland security information among such agencies. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish BEST units in jurisdictions in which such units can contribute to BEST missions, after considering: (1) whether the area in which the unit would be established is significantly impacted by cross-border threats; (2) the availability of federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement resources to participate in the unit; (3) the extent to which border security threats are having a significant harmful impact in the area and in other U.S. jurisdictions; and (4) whether an Integrated Border Enforcement Team already exists in the area. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether to establish or expand a BEST unit in a given jurisdiction, to ensure that the unit under consideration does not duplicate the efforts of other existing interagency task forces or centers within that jurisdiction. Authorizes the Secretary, after determining the jurisdictions in which to establish BEST units and in order to provide federal assistance to such jurisdictions, to: (1) direct the assignment of federal personnel to BEST; and (2) take other actions to assist federal, state, local, and tribal entities to participate in BEST, including providing financial assistance for operational, administrative, and technological costs associated with such participation. Directs the Secretary to report annually on the effectiveness of the program in enhancing border security and reducing the drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal alien trafficking and smuggling, violence, and kidnapping along and across U.S. borders.

Date: 2011-03-03
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Immigration
Bed Bug Management, Prevention, and Research Act - Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to: (1) award grants for bed bug management and eradication, (2) appoint a bed bug task force, and (3) award grants for related research projects. Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to include bed bugs in the definition of "vector." Requires the submission and evaluation of efficacy data if a pesticide is labeled for or proposed to be labeled for the control of a public health pest. Prohibits the sale or distribution of any product that is marketed, distributed, or sold with a claim that such product will control a public health pest if the submitted data does not support such claim. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants through September 30, 2017, to three state agencies for a pilot program under which state subdivisions and housing authorities use such funds to supplement ongoing bed bug prevention and mitigation activities. (Requires at least one of the three grants to be awarded to a state agency that before November 1, 2009, submitted a public health exemption request which proposed a pesticide use to control bed bugs but which was voluntarily canceled.)

Date: 2011-03-09
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Medicare Lung Cancer Early Detection Promotion Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prescribe an increased radiologist service payment for chest radiography (x-ray) services that use Computer Aided Detection technology for the early detection of lung cancer.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal provisions establishing and appropriating funds to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (a Fund to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private and public sector health care costs). Rescinds any unobligated balances appropriated to such Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to post a notice of such rescission and the amounts of funds rescinded on the public HHS website within 10 days of enactment of this Act.

Date: 2011-03-29
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enhance the suicide prevention program of the Department of Defense (DOD) through the provision of suicide prevention information and resources to members of the Armed Forces from their initial enlistment or appointment through their final retirement or separation. Requires the Secretary of each military department (Secretary concerned) to include a training component on suicide prevention, which shall include: (1) methods for recognizing suicide risk factors; (2) protocols for responding to crisis situations involving members who may be at high risk for suicide; and (3) information about available suicide prevention services and best practices for suicide prevention. Directs the Secretary concerned to notify members of the the availability of and access to suicide prevention services during their preseparation counseling. Requires medical evaluations for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury in members who were deployed overseas in support of a contingency operation to also include the provision of information on the availability of suicide prevention services and the member's right of access to such services.

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Josh Miller Helping Everyone Access Responsive Treatment in Schools Act of 2011 or Josh Miller HEARTS Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use in their schools, and/or (2) provide training to meet the grant requirement that at least five adult employees or volunteers at each school where an AED is to be used successfully complete training in its use and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Requires LEA grant applicants also to demonstrate that: (1) the AEDs are integrated into the schools' emergency response procedures, and (2) emergency services personnel are notified of their locations. Gives grant priority to schools that: (1) lack an AED; (2) typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; (3) generally have a longer wait for emergency medical services than other public facilities in the community; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.

Date: 2011-04-05
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Education
Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a comprehensive program to achieve a 50% reduction in the mortality rate of lung cancer by 2020. Requires the program to include initiatives throughout HHS, including: (1) a strategic review and prioritization by the National Cancer Institute of research grants; (2) the establishment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of quality standards and guidelines for facilities that conduct computed tomography screening for lung cancer; and (3) the provision of funds to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a Lung Cancer Early Detection Program that provides low-income, uninsured, and underserved populations that are at high risk for lung cancer access to early detection services. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to coordinate with the Secretary of HHS in implementing this Act and implementing coordinated care programs for military personnel and veterans diagnosed with lung cancer. Requires the Secretary of HHS to establish: (1) the Lung Cancer Computed Tomography Screening and Treatment Demonstration Project; and (2) the Lung Cancer Advisory Board to monitor the programs established under this Act.

Date: 2011-04-06
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
National Black Clergy for the Elimination of HIV/AIDS Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Director of the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to public health agencies and faith-based organizations to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and related outreach activities to reduce HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. Authorizes the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to make grants to: (1) public health agencies and faith-based organizations to conduct HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted disease outreach, prevention, and testing activities and substance abuse testing and mental health services targeted to the African-American community; and (2) faith- and community-based organizations to provide services to youth who are HIV positive or at risk for HIV/AIDS and who have run away from home, are homeless, or reside in a detention center or foster care. Authorizes the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make grants to faith-based organizations for public health intervention and prevention activities in the African-American community to reduce HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis. Requires the Director of CDC to: (1) expand and intensify HIV/AIDS activities in African-American communities and educational activities targeting black women, youth, and men who have sex with men; (2) expand funding to build the capacity of African-American communities to respond to HIV/AIDS; and (3) implement a national media outreach campaign on getting tested. Authorizes the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research behavioral strategies to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. Authorizes the Director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to make grants for the study of biological and behavioral factors that lead to increased HIV/AIDS prevalence in the African-American community and for behavioral and structural network research and interventions. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to award grants for: (1) training health care providers in HIV/AIDS prevention and care, (2) developing policies for providing culturally relevant and sensitive treatment to individuals with HIV/AIDS, (3) HIV/AIDS telemedicine programs, (4) certification programs for providers in HIV/AIDS care, (5) establishment of comfort care centers for people with HIV/AIDS, and (6) incentive payments to health care providers to implement HIV/AIDS testing.

Date: 2011-04-08
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Tanning Bed Cancer Control Act of 2011 - Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA): (1) to complete a study to examine the classification of ultraviolet tanning lamps as class I medical devices; and (2) not later than one year after completion of such study, to either issue a rule providing for the reclassification of an ultraviolet tanning lamp as a class II or class III device or submit to Congress a report providing a justification for not issuing such a rule. Requires the Commissioner to: (1) complete a study on the adequacy of performance standards established for ultraviolet tanning lamps; and (2) either issue a rule providing for more stringent performance standards for such lamps, including with respect to the strength of ultraviolet rays emitted by such devices and the amount of time a user should remain exposed to such devices, or submit to Congress a report providing a justification for not issuing such a rule. Directs the Commissioner to carry out recommendations made in a report on labeling requirements for indoor tanning devices regarding ultraviolet tanning lamps. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the Commissioner with regard to an ultraviolet tanning lamp.

Date: 2011-05-02
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2011 - Prohibits any federal funds from being provided to a hospital under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or to a state, with respect to hospital services, under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act, unless the hospital meets certain conditions related to a woman who is a victim of sexual assault, including that the hospital: (1) provides the woman with accurate and unbiased information about emergency contraception, (2) offers emergency contraception to the woman, (3) provides the woman such contraception at the hospital on her request, and (4) does not deny any such services because of the inability of the woman or her family to pay.

Date: 2011-05-04
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Increasing Access to Voluntary Screening for HIV/AIDS and STIs Act of 2011 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require a state plan to provide coverage of routine screening services for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) with no cost sharing for such screening services. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of SSA to require coverage of such screening services. Sets forth requirements for such screenings. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require health plans to provide coverage for such screening under terms and conditions that are no less favorable than the terms and conditions applicable to other routine health screenings. Prohibits certain actions to avoid these requirements. Applies such requirement to the federal employees health benefits program. Permits state Medicaid plans to provide medical coverage of individuals who have HIV/AIDS and whose income and resources do not exceed the maximum amount of income or resources disabled individuals may have to obtain such medical assistance. Provides for reimbursement to states at an enhanced federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for such coverage. Excludes such coverage from the limitations on Medicaid payments to territories. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) track national HIV/AIDS and STI screening trends and the burdens of HIV/AIDS and STIs among people with disabilities; (2) make sex education materials that promote voluntary screening for HIV/AIDS and STIs accessible to the deaf and hearing loss community and to people with intellectual disabilities; (3) ensure that national screening guidelines for cervical cancer state that women who have sex with women should have the same guidelines as women who have sex only with men; and (4) improve information collection concerning the transmission, morbidity, and screening for HIV/AIDS and STIs in transgender communities.

Date: 2011-05-05
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Tom Lantos Pulmonary Hypertension Research and Education Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, should continue aggressive work on pulmonary hypertension; and (2) the Director of the Institute should continue research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, pulmonary hypertension. Requires inclusion of information on the status of pulmonary hypertension research at NIH in biennial reports to Congress. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to carry out an educational campaign to increase public awareness of pulmonary hypertension, which may include information on pulmonary hypertension and its symptoms, the incidence and prevalence of pulmonary hypertension, diseases and conditions that can lead to pulmonary hypertension as a secondary diagnosis, the importance of early diagnosis, and the availability of a range of treatment options. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Director of CDC, to carry out an educational campaign to increase awareness of pulmonary hypertension among health care providers, which may include information on: (1) the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension, (2) the importance of early diagnosis, (3) current diagnostic criteria, and (4) Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapies for the disease. Requires such campaign to target health care providers, including cardiologists, pulmonologists, rheumatologists, primary care physicians, pediatricians, and nurse practitioners.

Date: 2011-05-10
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Status Report on the 30th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS Act - Directs the President to transmit to Congress and make publicly available: (1) a report on the status of the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and (2) a report on the status of international progress towards achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Access to Appropriate Immunizations for Veterans Act of 2011 - Includes within authorized preventive health services available to veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) immunizations against infectious diseases, including each immunization on the recommended adult immunization schedule established by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Requires the inclusion, in an annual report from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on VA preventive health services, of programs conducted to ensure that veterans have received each immunization on such immunization schedule at the appropriate time. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement quality measures and metrics to ensure that veterans receiving VA medical services receive each immunization at the time indicated on the schedule. Requires statistics related to such quality measures and metrics to be included in the annual report described above. Provides deadlines for the establishment and implementation of the measures and metrics.

Date: 2011-05-13
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Health Freedom Act - Prohibits the federal government from preventing the use of a claim describing any nutrient in a food or dietary supplement as mitigating, treating, or preventing any disease, disease symptom, or health-related condition unless, in a final order following a trial on the merits, a federal court finds clear and convincing evidence, based on qualified expert opinion and published peer-reviewed scientific research, that: (1) the claim is false and misleading in a material respect; and (2) there is no less speech-restrictive alternative to claim suppression that can render the claim non-misleading. Defines the term "material" to mean that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified a competent consumer survey demonstrating that consumers decided to purchase the food or dietary supplement based on the portion of the claim alleged to be false or misleading. Revokes all FDA rules prohibiting nutrient-disease relationship claims. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to deem a food to be misbranded only when its label includes a claim adjudicated to be false and misleading under this Act. Removes limits on health claims on food provided for in the FFDCA.  Prohibits the government from preventing distribution of a publication concerning the sale of a food or dietary supplement unless: (1) it establishes that a claim contained in the publication names the specific food or supplement sold and represents that the food or supplement mitigates, treats, or prevents a disease; and (2) the claim is proven to be false and misleading in accordance with this Act.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Prostate Research, Outreach, Screening, Testing, Access, and Treatment Effectiveness Act of 2011 or the PROSTATE Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish the Interagency Prostate Cancer Coordination and Education Task Force, with duties to include: (1) developing a summary of advances in federal prostate cancer research and compile a list of best practices that warrant broader adoption in health care programs; (2) considering establishing guidance to enable physicians to allow screening of men over age 74; (3) coordinating information on federal research and health care program activities relating to prostate cancer; and (4) submitting recommendations regarding federal research and health care programs. Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a program to coordinate and intensify prostate cancer research, including by developing advances in diagnostic and prognostic methods and tests, better understanding the etiology of the disease, and establishing clinical registries for prostate cancer and awarding research grants. Establishes in the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) a Prostate Cancer Scientific Advisory Board to be responsible for accelerating real-time sharing of the latest research data and accelerating movement of new medicines to patients. Directs the Secretary of VA, the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish four-year telehealth pilot projects to analyze the clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness associated with telehealth services in a variety of geographic areas that contain high proportions of medically underserved populations and those in rural areas. Requires the Secretary of VA to develop a national education campaign for prostate cancer.

Date: 2011-06-14
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Border Health Security Act of 2011 - Amends the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission Act to revise the duties of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission to include serving as an independent and objective body to both recommend and implement initiatives that solve border health issues. Authorizes a member of the Commission to provide advice or recommendations to Congress concerning issues that are considered by the Commission. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the members of the Commission, to award grants to eligible entities to improve the health of individuals residing in the United States-Mexico Border Area. Requires the Secretary to award grants under the Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance project to eligible entities for infection disease surveillance activities in the United States-Mexico Border Area. Requires the Commission to: (1) prepare a binational strategic plan to guide the operations of the Commission, and (2) develop and approve an operational work plan and budget based on the strategic plan. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an evaluation of Commission activities. Requires the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine for a study concerning binational health infrastructure, with respect to the United States and Mexico and the United States and Canada (including trauma and emergency care), and health insurance efforts. Authorizes the Secretary to coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in establishing a health alert system that: (1) alerts clinicians and public health officials of emerging disease clusters and syndromes along the United States-Mexico Border Area; and (2) is alerted to signs of health threats, disasters of mass scale, or bioterrorism along the United States-Mexico Border Area.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Lymphedema Diagnosis and Treatment Cost Savings Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage to lymphedema diagnosis and treatment services. including lymphedema compression treatment items.

Date: 2011-07-12
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) establish the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board, (2) develop a system to collect data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, and (3) establish the National PF Registry. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in developing the Registry, to: (1) expand and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure; and (2) provide for research access to pulmonary fibrosis data. Directs the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information are made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires the Director of CDC to prepare the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Education and Awareness Plan, which shall: (1) focus on strategies to increase public education and awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, (2) address the need for new physician education strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment standards, and (3) assess and monitor the costs of pulmonary fibrosis and its burden on patients and families. Encourages the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute pulmonary fibrosis research activities.

Date: 2011-07-12
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Breast Cancer Recovery Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) to require payment for post-mastectomy external breast prosthesis garments regardless of whether such items are supplied to the beneficiary before or after the mastectomy or other breast cancer surgical procedure. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop policies to ensure appropriate beneficiary access and utilization safeguards for such items.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Amends the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 to reauthorize appropriations for FY2013-FY2017 for a demonstration program to develop and establish systemic mechanisms to improve the prevention and treatment of Sickle Cell Disease.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding the manner in which they can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases; (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases; (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups; (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public health policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced; and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

Date: 2011-07-15
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
National Neurological Diseases Surveillance System Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) enhance and expand infrastructure and activities to track the epidemiology of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease; and (2) incorporate information obtained through such activities into a National Neurological Diseases Surveillance System. Requires the Secretary to ensure that the System is designed in a manner that facilitates further research on neurological diseases. Requires the Secretary to provide for the collection and storage of information on the incidence and prevalence of neurological diseases in the United States and other information on neurological diseases, such as demographics information, risk factors, or diagnosis and progression markers. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide for the collection and storage of information relevant to analysis on neurological diseases, such as information concerning the epidemiology, natural history, prevention, detection, management, and treatment of the diseases and the development of outcomes measures; and (2) address issues identified through consultations with individuals with appropriate expertise. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities to carry out activities under this Act. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make information and analysis in the System available to federal agencies and to the public, including researchers; and (2) ensure that privacy and security protections applicable to the System are at least as stringent as the protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Date: 2011-07-20
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2011 or the PHIT Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a medical care tax deduction for up to $1,000 ($2,000 for married couples filing jointly or heads of household) of qualified sports and fitness expenses. Defines "qualified sports and fitness expenses" as amounts paid for fitness center memberships, physical exercise programs, and exercise equipment.

Date: 2011-07-26
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Taxation
Charles August Long Undiagnosed Diseases Research and Collaboration Network Act of 2011 or the CAL Undiagnosed Diseases Research and Collaboration Network Act of 2011 - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish and maintain an undiagnosed diseases patient network. Includes among the purposes of the CAL Network to: (1) provide physicians who are handling cases of undiagnosed diseases with a means to search for similar cases and to network and collaborate with physicians handling similar cases; (2) better enable and examine cross-disease research; (3) better describe the types and prevalence of cases of undiagnosed diseases in the United States; and (4) provide such data necessary to better understand the length of time for a diagnosis to be rendered and to identify barriers to diagnoses and reasons for misdiagnosis of diseases. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for: (1) the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on cases of undiagnosed diseases and other disorders that can often go undiagnosed or be misdiagnosed as other diseases or disorders; and (2) the establishment of separate undiagnosed disease programs.

Date: 2011-07-27
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage to medical nutrition therapy services for people with pre-diabetes and risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Medicare Diabetes Self-Management Training Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to recognize state-licensed or -registered health care professionals who are certified diabetes educators in an outpatient setting as authorized providers of Medicare diabetes outpatient self-management training services, including as part of telehealth services, under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Comptroller General to study the barriers that exist for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes in accessing diabetes self-management training services under the Medicare program. Directs the Director of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a series of recommendations on effective outreach methods to educate primary care physicians and the public about the benefits of diabetes self-management training.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and make recommendations regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate in any way to supporting appropriate clinical care for people with pre-diabetes and diabetes. Sets forth the duties of the Commission, which shall include: (1) evaluating HHS programs; (2) identifying current activities and critical gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing care to people with pre-diabetes and diabetes; (3) using outcomes-based registry data to evaluate various care models and methods; (4) evaluating and expanding education and awareness to health care professionals regarding clinical practices for the prevention of diabetes and the precursor conditions of diabetes; and (5) developing and testing appropriate methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources related to diabetes prevention and treatments. Requires the Commission to submit to the Secretary and Congress an operating plan for carrying out the activities of the Commission that includes specific activities the Commission plans to conduct and a budget for such activities.

Date: 2011-09-15
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible entities to establish pilot programs to develop, study, or evaluate model systems for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors. Requires the Secretary to convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer to establish a plan to meet specified objectives relating to medical and psychosocial care workforce development, including: (1) disseminating to health care educators information relevant to providing medical and psychosocial services to persons with pediatric cancers; (2) adapting curricula for continuing education of the existing workforce; and (3) strengthening the emphasis on psychosocial health care in educational accreditation standards and professional licensing and certification. Reauthorizes and expands the National Cancer Institute's pediatric cancer research and awareness program to include research on: (1) pediatric cancer survivors within minority or other medically underserved populations, (2) health disparities in pediatric cancer survivorship outcomes, and (3) follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors. Requires the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to establish and operate a clinic for comprehensive long-term follow-up services for pediatric cancer survivors.

Date: 2011-09-22
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2011 - Directs the President to establish the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020. Directs the Commission to: (1) identify opportunities and ideas within government and the private sector that are key components in achieving the end of breast cancer and which have been overlooked, yet are ripe for collaboration and investment; (2) recommend projects to leverage such opportunities and ideas in the areas of the primary prevention of breast cancer and the causes and prevention of breast cancer metastasis; and (3) ensure that its activities are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories of other government agencies. Directs the President to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine for an evaluation of the Commission's progress. Terminates the Commission on June 1, 2020.

Date: 2011-09-26
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require mammography facilities to include information regarding the patient's individual measure of breast density in both the written report of the results of a mammography examination provided to the patient's physician and the summary of that written report given to patients. Requires the summary to: (1) convey the patient's risk of developing breast cancer associated with below, above, and average levels of breast density; and (2) include language communicating that individuals with more dense breasts may benefit from supplemental screening tests and should talk with their physicians about any questions or concerns regarding the summary.

Date: 2011-10-05
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Awareness Act of 2011 - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act commonly referred to as Johanna's Law to revise requirements for a national public awareness campaign regarding gynecologic cancers to: (1) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase awareness and knowledge of ovarian and cervical cancers, and (2) expand such campaign to include public service announcements targeted to low-income women.Expresses the sense of Congress that funding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of gynecologic cancer education and awareness efforts should reflect the fact that ovarian and cervical cancers are the most deadly of the gynecologic cancers.

Date: 2011-10-12
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Supporting Colorectal Examination and Education Now Act of 2011 or the SCREEN Act of 2011 - Increases Medicare payments to qualifying Medicare providers by 10% for cancer screening tests recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Terminates the increase for a test when it reaches a 75% utilization rate for beneficiaries for whom such screening is recommended. Makes a Medicare provider eligible for such increased payment only if the provider: (1) participates in a nationally recognized quality improvement registry with respect to such test, and (2) demonstrates that the tests were provided in accordance with accepted outcomes-based quality measures. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive cost-sharing for colorectal cancer screening tests. Extends Medicare coverage to include an outpatient office visit or consultation prior to a colorectal cancer test consisting of a screening colonoscopy, or in conjunction with an individual's decision regarding the performance of such a test on the individual, for the purpose of beneficiary education, assuring selection of the proper screening test, and securing information relating to the procedure and the sedation of the individual. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reduce the conversion factors for purposes of payment to physicians and hospital outpatient departments under Medicare to offset the additional expenditures under this Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require health plans to cover, with no cost-sharing, activities related to certain covered preventive services that are part of the same clinical encounter, such as conducting a biopsy or removing a lesion or growth.

Date: 2011-10-13
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health
Healthy Foods for Healthy Living Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to make grants to community-based organizations and local redevelopment agencies operating in low-income communities to: (1) assist in purchasing appropriate equipment or in hiring and training personnel to expand the inventory of fresh fruits and vegetables or other healthy food alternatives available for residents of a low-income community, and (2) carry out related consumer education and outreach activities. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to cover additional primary and preventive services relating to obesity treatment and prevention, supervised exercise sessions, stress testing, lifestyle modification education, and culinary arts education to promote proper nutrition.

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Viral Hepatitis Testing Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to carry out surveillance, education, and testing programs with respect to hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) virus infections. Requires the Secretary to establish a national system with respect to HBV and HCV to: (1) determine the prevalence of such infections, (2) carry out testing programs to increase the number of individuals who are aware of their infection, (3) disseminate public information and education programs for the detection and control of such infections, (4) provide referrals for counseling and medical treatment and ensure the provision of follow-up services, and (5) improve the training of health professionals in the treatment of such infections. Directs the Secretary to determine the populations that are considered at high risk. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to complete the revision of CDC guidelines for screening individuals with HCV, taking into account: (1) the effectiveness issues that have been raised with respect to the current CDC guidelines for screening, (2) the importance of responding to the perception that receiving such screening may be stigmatizing, and (3) whether age-based screening would be effective. Requires the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to: (1) develop HCV screening recommendations, taking into account the guidelines established by CDC and new and improved treatments for HCV; and (2) develop HBV screening recommendations, taking into account the guidelines the CDC recommended in 2008.

Date: 2011-11-04
Topic: Health (Disease Prevention)
Subject: Health