Health Programs Extension Act of 1980

(Conference report filed in House, H. Rept. 96-1478)

Health Programs Extension Act of 1980 - =Title I: National Cancer Institute and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Authorizations= - Amends the Public Health Services Act to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1981 and 1982 for the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

=Title II: Amendments Relating to Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive Diseases, and Kidney Diseases= - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with the Associate Director for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases, to establish the Diabetes Data Group and the Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Authorizes appropriations for such purposes for fiscal years 1981-1983.

Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981-1983 for diabetes research and related activities.

Consolidates existing provisions regarding the Diabetes Coordinating Committee, the Arthritis Coordinating Committee, and the Digestive Diseases Coordinating Committee, and designates each as an Interagency Coordinating Committee. Designates the membership of such Committees.

Requires each Committee to report annually to the Secretary, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and to its respective Advisory Board. Establishes the positions of Associate Directors of: (1) Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases; (2) Arthritis; (3) Diabetes Mellitus; and (4) Digestive Diseases.

Consolidates the authorities for the National Diabetes Advisory Board and the National Arthritis Board. Establishes a National Digestive Diseases Advisory Board. Provides that each Board shall be composed of 18 appointed members and nonvoting ex-officio members, and sets forth membership qualifications, term of office provisions, and compensation provisions. Requires of each Board: (1) at least four meetings annually; and (2) an annual report to the Secretary and to Congress. Provides for the termination of each Board on September 30, 1983. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981-1983.

Includes projects investigating the epidemiology of arthritis within the scope of arthritis demonstration grant projects. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981-1983 for arthritis demonstration projects, including the Arthritis Data System.

Authorizes multipurpose arthritis centers to use funds for stipends to health professionals in specified training programs. Revises the deadline for annual evaluations of such centers' activities. Eliminates the existing three-year limitation on such grants. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1981-1983.

Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, and Digestive Diseases, to establish an information and education center for digestive diseases.

=Title III: Health Planning Amendments= - Sets forth a pro rata formula for planning grants, effective as of fiscal year 1982. Revises the deadline date from February 1, 1982, to February 1, 1983, for the Comptroller General's report to Congress regarding exemptions from the certificate of need program. Makes technical changes in specified provisions of such Act and other Federal law respecting health planning.

=Title IV: Health Professions Programs= - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 for the Federal loan insurance program. Eliminates the prohibition on a student receiving such a loan at the same time that he/she is receiving specified assistance under title IV (guaranteed and insured student loans) of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Revises the maximum interest rate from 12 percent to a rate based on the average of the bond equivalent rates of the 91-day Treasury bills auctioned for the previous quarter plus three and a half percentage points, rounded to the next higher one-eight of a percent. Permits National Health Service Corps scholarship recipients to enter private practice in a health manpower shortage area without first demonstrating that there is a sufficient financial base in the area to provide the individual with an income equal to that of Corps members.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend through December 31, 1981, the waiver provision for foreign medical graduates.

=Title V: Neurological Research= - Directs the Secretary to contract with a private nonprofit entity to conduct a general review of past and ongoing neurological research, including spinal cord regeneration. States that the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science shall be given first choice for such contract. Requires the contracting entity to report to the Secretary within 12 months of enactment of this Act.