A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove all limits on the number of home health visits for which payment may be made under both part A and part B (eliminating the requirement of prior hospitalization in the case of home health care under part A), to include additional types of services as home health care, to provide coverage for preventive care under part B, to provide coverage for services furnished in outpatient rehabilitation facilities and elderly day care centers, to improve the administration of the medicare program, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the 100 visit limitation presently applicable to home health care services under such title. Eliminates prior hospitalization as a condition of eligibility for home health care services under part A (Hospital Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) of such title. Eliminates the requirement that a physician review the home health care plan and that the patient be under the care of a physician. Requires that such functions be done by the appropriate health professional under regulation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Includes as home health services periodic chore services, hospital outreach services, and nutritional counseling. Requires each home health agency to have in effect a utilization review plan as adapted to meet the noninstitutional nature of home health services. Includes outpatient rehabilitation services and health and supportive services furnished in elderly day care centers among the services provided under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) of title XVIII. Amends part B (Professional Standards Review) of title XI of the Act to: (1) direct a Professional Standards Review Organization to perform the same duties and functions for skilled nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, and other long-term care providers as it performs for hospitals; and (2) include nurses, social workers, guidance counselors, and other appropriate health care professionals.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 4, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 4, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
LESTER WOLFF (D-NY) introduced it on March 4, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 4, 1980, 17039 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17039 days ago, on March 4, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers