S. 3101 (110th): Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008

Introduced:
Jun 06, 2008 (110th Congress, 2007–2009)
Sponsor:
Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)
See Instead:

H.R. 6331 (same title)
Veto Overridden — Jul 15, 2008

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on June 9, 2008, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Jun 06, 2008
Reported by Committee Jun 09, 2008
Votes

On the Cloture Motion S. 3101
Jun 12, 2008 2:59 p.m.
Cloture Motion Rejected 54/39

Cosponsors
4 cosponsors (2R, 2D) (show)
Full Title

A bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare program, to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs, and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jun 09, 2008.
260 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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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.

6/6/2008--Introduced.
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of additional preventive services.
Provides for gradual elimination of copayment rates for Medicare psychiatric services.
Places prohibitions and limitations on certain sales and marketing activities under Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and prescription drug plans.
Requires offering of a range of Medicare supplemental policies.
Extends the qualifying individual program. Provides for application of a full low-income subsidy assets test under the Medicare Savings Program.
Eliminates Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) late enrollment penalties paid by subsidy-eligible individuals.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for state health insurance assistance programs, area agencies on aging, and aging and disability resource centers. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for increasing the delivery of mental health services or other health care services to meet the needs of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas. Permits rebasing for sole community hospitals.
Directs the Secretary to establish a demonstration project for development and testing of new community health integration models in certain rural counties.
Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, to extend through FY2009 the reclassification of certain hospitals.
Increases physicians' payments. Revises requirements for and extends the quality reporting system, including incentive payments.
Directs the Secretary to establish a Physician Feedback Program. Provides for: (1) incentives for electronic prescribing of medicine; (2) expanded access to primary care services; (3) extension of the floor on Medicare work geographic adjustment under the Medicare physician fee schedule; and (4) an accreditation requirement for advanced diagnostic imaging services.
Revises requirements for Medicare anesthesia teaching programs. Makes permanent the exception to the 60-day limit on Medicare reciprocal billing arrangements between two physicians over a longer continuous period during all of which one of them is ordered to active duty as a member of a reserve component of the armed forces.
Provides for coverage of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation.
Revises payment rules for power-driven wheelchairs.
Extends increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services. Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary to establish pilot projects with respect to chronic kidney disease.
Revises requirements for renal dialysis.
Provides for phase-out of indirect costs of medical education from capitation rates.
Revises requirements for MA private fee-for-service plans as well as MA plans for special needs individuals.
Modifies requirements for quality improvement programs.
Requires prompt payment of clean claims by prescription drug plans and MA-Prescription Drug plans under Medicare part D. Revises the definition of medically accepted indication for drugs.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a consensus-based entity for certain activities relating to health care performance measurement; and (2) evaluate and report to Congress on approaches for the collection of data regarding health care disparities.
Creates the Medicare Improvement Fund.
Extends the transitional medical assistance (TMA), the abstinence education program, and allotments for disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid).
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to extend supplemental grants under SSA title IV part D (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF).
Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend special diabetes grant programs.

House Republican Conference Summary

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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.

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.)

Statutes at Large

The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.

  • 117 Stat. 2301
  • 120 Stat. 135
  • 120 Stat. 2994
  • 121 Stat. 244
  • 121 Stat. 984

Other Citations

  • 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35