Improving Our Well-Being Act of 2002
Latest action · Aug 1, 2002 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 1, 2002
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Improving Our Well-Being Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to eliminate the geographic physician work adjustment factor from geographic indices used to adjust payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule.
Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on differences in payment amounts under the Medicare physician fee schedule for physicians' services in different geographic areas.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish procedures under which the Secretary, and not the physician furnishing a service, is responsible for determining when a Medicare incentive payment must be made.
Increases the amount of payment to certain non-teaching hospitals for inpatient hospital services during FY 2003 through 2005 according to a specified formula.
Revises the Medicare payment rate for hospitals in areas other than large urban areas to reflect the full market basket increase without the 0.55 percentage point reduction currently required.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) equalize urban and rural standardized payments under the Medicare Inpatient Hospital Prospective Payment System; and (2) increase payments for certain services furnished by small rural hospitals and services that benefit low-volume hospitals.
Revises provisions, reimbursement procedures, payments, and ambulance services for specified hospitals.
Reinstates the Medicare periodic interim payment for critical access hospitals.
Requires the Secretary to pay the reasonable cost of home health services expended by certain home health agencies and increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for rural health clinics.
Extends an increase for Medicare home health services furnished in rural areas and the availability of Medicare cost contracts for Medicare beneficiaries.
Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services)(SSA) to direct the Secretary to make grants to States to improve dental services to children enrolled in a State plan under title XIX (Medicaid) or title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP).
Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a grant program for eligible entities and individuals (including Indian tribes) to expand the availability of primary dental care services where necessary.
Directs the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to increase access to dental services for children in underserved areas.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Sep 3, 2002.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IA | Tom Harkin | Sep 3, 2002 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 1, 2002Introduced in Senate
- Aug 1, 2002Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Access to health care
- Ambulances
- Ambulatory care
- Anesthetics
- Child health
- Clinics
- Community health services
- Congress
- Congressional investigations
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Dental care
- Dentists
- Economics and Public Finance
- Education
- Families
- Federal aid to child health services
- Federal aid to health facilities
- Federal aid to Indians
- Federal aid to medical education
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publicity
- Governmental investigations
- Health
- Health insurance
- Higher education
- Home care services
- Hospital care
- Hospital personnel
- Hospital rates
- Housing and Community Development
- Indian children
- Indian medical care
- Labor and Employment
- Medicaid
- Medical fees
- Medical residents
- Medically uninsured
- Medicare
- Minorities
- Nurses
- Nursing homes
- Physicians
- Poor children
- Prospective payment systems (Medical care)
- Rural health
- Rural hospitals
- Social Welfare
- Teaching hospitals
- Urban affairs
- Wages
- Welfare eligibility
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.