Index for HR3962: Affordable Health Care for America Act

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

Mr. Dingell (for himself, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Waxman, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Stark, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Andrews) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

(a) Telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs.—Section 330I (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking paragraph (3) (relating to frontier communities); and

(B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

“(3) HEALTH DISPARITIES.—The term ‘health disparities’ has the meaning given such term in section 3171.”;

(2) in subsection (d)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(D) reduce health disparities.”;

(3) in subsection (f)(1)(B)(iii)—

(A) in subclause (VII), by inserting “, including skilled nursing facilities” before the period at the end;

(B) in subclause (IX), by inserting “, including county mental health and public mental health facilities” before the period at the end; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(XIII) Renal dialysis facilities.”;

(4) by amending subsection (i) to read as follows:

“(i) Preferences.—

“(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORKS.—In awarding grants under subsection (d)(1) for projects involving telehealth networks, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible entities meeting at least one of the following:

“(A) NETWORK.—The eligible entity is a health care provider in, or proposing to form, a health care network that furnishes services in a medically underserved area or a health professional shortage area.

“(B) BROAD GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE.—The eligible entity demonstrates broad geographic coverage in the rural or medically underserved areas of the State or States in which the entity is located.

“(C) HEALTH DISPARITIES.—The eligible entity demonstrates how the project to be funded through the grant will address health disparities.

“(D) LINKAGES.—The eligible entity agrees to use the grant to establish or develop plans for telehealth systems that will link rural hospitals and rural health care providers to other hospitals, health care providers, and patients.

“(E) EFFICIENCY.—The eligible entity agrees to use the grant to promote greater efficiency in the use of health care resources.

“(F) VIABILITY.—The eligible entity demonstrates the long-term viability of projects through—

“(i) availability of non-Federal funding sources; or

“(ii) institutional and community support for the telehealth network.

“(G) SERVICES.—The eligible entity provides a plan for coordinating system use by eligible entities and prioritizes use of grant funds for health care services over nonclinical uses.

“(2) TELEHEALTH RESOURCE CENTERS.—In awarding grants under subsection (d)(2) for projects involving telehealth resource centers, the Secretary shall give preference to eligible entities meeting at least one of the following:

“(A) PROVISION OF A BROAD RANGE OF SERVICES.—The eligible entity has a record of success in the provision of a broad range of telehealth services to medically underserved areas or populations.

“(B) PROVISION OF TELEHEALTH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The eligible entity has a record of success in the provision of technical assistance to providers serving medically underserved communities or populations in the establishment and implementation of telehealth services.

“(C) COLLABORATION AND SHARING OF EXPERTISE.—The eligible entity has a demonstrated record of collaborating and sharing expertise with providers of telehealth services at the national, regional, State, and local levels.”;

(5) in subsection (j)(2)(B), by striking “such projects for fiscal year 2001” and all that follows through the period and inserting “such projects for fiscal year 2010.”;

(6) in subsection (k)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (E)(i), by striking “transmission of medical data” and inserting “transmission and electronic archival of medical data”; and

(B) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows:

“(F) developing projects to use telehealth technology to—

“(i) facilitate collaboration between health care providers;

“(ii) promote telenursing services; or

“(iii) promote patient understanding and adherence to national guidelines for chronic disease and self-management of such conditions;”;

(7) in subsection (q), by striking “Not later than September 30, 2005” and inserting “Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, and annually thereafter”;

(8) by striking subsection (r);

(9) by redesignating subsection (s) as subsection (r); and

(10) in subsection (r) (as so redesignated)—

(A) in paragraph (1)—

(i) by striking “and” before “such sums”; and

(ii) by inserting “, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015” before the semicolon; and

(B) in paragraph (2)—

(i) by striking “and” before “such sums”; and

(ii) by inserting “, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015” before the period.

(b) Telemedicine; incentive grants regarding coordination among States.—Subsection (b) of section 330L (42 U.S.C. 254c–18) is amended by inserting “, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015” before the period at the end.