A bill to protect consumers in managed care plans and other health coverage, to provide for parity with respect to mental health coverage, to reduce medical errors, and to increase the access of individuals to quality health care.
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Health Care Consumer Assistance Fund, to be used to award grants to eligible States to carry out consumer assistance activities designed to provide information, assistance, and referrals to consumers of health insurance products.
Requires access to care, including non-network providers, timely access to specialty care, direct access to specialists in obstetrics and gynecology, investigational drug and device coverage, coverage for patients in clinical trials, and the inpatient period for breast cancer patients.
Prohibits restricting a health care professional's communications with a patient, discrimination against a provider solely because of the provider's license or certification, improper incentives, and retaliation for patient advocacy, including by providers. Requires prompt claims payment.
Delays the required submission date of a letter of credit by carriers administering Supplementary Medical Insurance.
Sets forth patient safety improvement provisions.
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits.
Provides for the automatic enrollment in Title XXI (currently, the State Children's Health Insurance Program - renamed the FamilyCare Program under this Act) of the Social Security Act of children born to title XXI parents.
Provides expanded Medicaid benefits for disabled children and for psychiatric care for individuals under age 21.
Amends Social Security Act provisions with respect to the welfare-to-work transition under the Medicaid program.
Authorizes the Secretary to award demonstration grants to a limited number of States to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs for the homeless (including Medicaid and FamilyCare) with respect to enrollment of such individuals and families and the provision of services under such programs.
Amends the Indian Health Care Act to guarantee specified amounts of funding for Indian health care.
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR 1/9/2003 S134)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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