H.R. 4316 (108th): Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2004

Introduced:
May 06, 2004 (108th Congress, 2003–2004)
Sponsor:
Rep. Janice “Jan” Schakowsky [D-IL9]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)
See Instead:
This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 1222 (109th) on Mar 10, 2005.

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on May 6, 2004, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced May 06, 2004
Cosponsors
31 cosponsors (30D, 1I) (show)
Committees

House Energy and Commerce

House Ways and Means

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratio requirements in hospitals, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated May 06, 2004.
24 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

5/6/2004--Introduced.
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement staffing plans that meet specified ratios for direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing levels for each unit and other requirements, including for receiving input from nurses. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to further limit such ratios as needed to ensure public safety and to establish ratios for units not specified. Provides an exception to such staffing requirements for a declared state of emergency. Requires hospitals to provide the Secretary with their staffing plan and annual updates. Requires the Secretary to conduct audits to ensure the implementation of adequate staffing plans. Requires the Secretary: (1) acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to complete a study of licensed practical nurse staffing and its effects on patient care in hospitals; and (2) to establish requirements for hospitals based on the outcome of the study. Requires the Secretary to adjust payments to cover additional Medicare costs that are attributable to this Act. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to submit to Congress and the Secretary a report estimating total costs and savings attributable to compliance with nurse staffing requirements. Provides nurses with the right to refuse to accept assignments that would violate staffing requirements or for which they are not prepared. Prohibits retaliation by hospitals for such refusals or for reporting violations of staffing requirements.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

  • Public Law 108-173

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 10 U.S.C. Chapter 55