Health Care Assurance Act of 2001
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S275-293)
Health Assurance Act of 2001 - Amends provisions of the Social Security Act to increase, by revising income requirements, the number of individuals eligible for: (1) Medicaid coverage; and (2) a State's child health assistance program. Provides grants to States to develop and establish choice systems change initiatives for long-term care. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to mandate: (1) a set of rules for determining the actuarial value of the coverage offered by a plan or group health insurance coverage; and (2) a target actuarial value. Mandates model regulations specifying standards for making qualified group health plans available to small employers. Allows a State to implement more stringent standards, so long as the State standards do not prevent the offering of at least one plan that provides standard coverage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose taxes on the failure to comply with requirements. Revises Medicare provisions to cover: (1) annual pap smears, pelvic exams, and mammography screening for women, with a coinsurance waiver; and (2) insulin pumps for the computerized delivery of insulin to certain Type I diabetics in lieu of multiple daily manual insulin injections. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the healthy start program under the PHSA Establishes: (1) a comprehensive school health education and prevention program for elementary and secondary schools; and (2) a comprehensive early childhood health education program. Sets forth provisions concerning a patient's right to decline medical treatment. Establishes: (1) a program to provide general medicine practice grants; (2) the Trust Fund for Medical Treatment Outcomes Research; (3) a State-based medical error reporting system; and (4) the National Fund for Health Research. Provides a tax credit for qualified long-term care premiums.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 22, 2001. 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 January 22, 2001: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S275-293)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 107th Congress (2001-02), 377 of the 9,126 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 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?
ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA) introduced it on January 22, 2001. 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 January 22, 2001, 9362 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 9362 days ago, on January 22, 2001.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 107th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2003 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
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers