Better Care, Lower Cost Act
Latest action · Jan 17, 2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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.
- IntroducedJan 15, 2014
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Better Care, Lower Cost Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish an integrated chronic care delivery program (Better Care Program or BCP) that promotes accountability and better care management for chronically ill patient populations and coordinates items and services under Medicare parts A (Hospital Insurance), B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), and D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program), while encouraging investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes that result in high quality and efficient service delivery for the most vulnerable and costly populations.
Requires the program to include specified elements and focus on long-term cost containment and better overall health of the Medicare population by implementing through qualified BCPs strategies that prevent, delay, or minimize the progression of illness or disability associated with chronic conditions.
Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to require a state to pay the Secretary, with certain adjustments, for full benefit dual eligible individuals (eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid) enrolled in a qualified BCP. Makes Medicare the primary payor for such individuals.
Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice Program) to direct the Secretary to establish procedures for the transition of special needs individuals to a Medicare Advantage plan qualified BCPs.
Prohibits any Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy from covering cost-sharing for items and services (other than certain emergent services) furnished to an enrollee in a qualified BCP by a service provider or supplier that is not a qualified BCP professional.
Revises requirements for the initial preventive physical examination (Welcome to Medicare visit) and annual wellness visits for BCP eligible individuals.
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to designate and provide core funding for at least three Chronic Care Innovation Centers.
Establishes new curricula requirements for direct and indirect graduate medical education payments that address the need for team-based care and chronic care management, including palliative medicine, chronic care management, leadership and team-based skills and planning, and leveraging technology as a care tool.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jan 15, 2014.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Original | Jan 15, 2014 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Jan 15, 2014 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Jan 17, 2014 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Jan 15, 2014 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 17, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Jan 15, 2014Introduced in House
- Jan 15, 2014Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H1229)
- Jan 15, 2014Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H1229 | Erik Paulsen R-MN | Jan 16, 2014 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H473.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1932 | Better Care, Lower Cost Act | Identical bill | Jan 15, 2014 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a Medicare Better Care Program to provide integrated care for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic conditions, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Better Care, Lower Cost Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Education programs funding
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care quality
- Health facilities and institutions
- Health information and medical records
- Health programs administration and funding
- Health promotion and preventive care
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
- Medicaid
- Medical education
- Medical research
- Medical tests and diagnostic methods
- Medicare
- Performance measurement
- Prescription drugs
- Rural conditions and development
- Teaching, teachers, curricula
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 15, 2014Introduced in House
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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
