A bill to amend the Social Security Act with respect to professional mental health services.
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Amends title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to establish a National Professional Mental Health Services Commission (the Commission) appointed by the President. Sets forth the membership requirements for such Commission. Requires the Commission to determine which professional mental health services are safe, effective, and appropriate in treating specified mental problems and to make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to their reimbursement under this Act. Directs the Commission to determine the patient conditions for which it would recommend a physical examination by a physician. Prohibits payment under this Act for any professional mental health services which the Commission formally recommends should not be reimbursed unless the Secretary disagrees with such recommendation and notifies the Commission thereof within 120 days of receipt of such recommendation. Precludes judicial review of both the Commission's recommendations and the Secretary's ultimate decision. Disallows payment under this Act for any mental health services which are not necessary to: (1) prevent the institutionalization of or rehabilitate a noninstitutionalized patient; or (2) diagnose or treat an institutionalized patient. Directs the Commission to provide information and data to the National Professional Standards Review Council established under this Act. Requires the Commission to make recommendations to the Secretary for the establishment of a professional review program to review regularly the validity and adequacy of professional mental health care. Directs the Commission to recommend research projects to assist it in carrying out its duties. Directs the Secretary to conduct such projects except where the Secretary specifically disapproves a requested study or requires additional information from the Commission. Establishes a physician advisory panel to assist the Commission in determining which mental health services should be performed only by a physician (as defined in this Act). Sets forth the membership of such panel. Directs the panel to report to the Secretary if it disagrees with any of the Commission's recommendations. Requires the Office of Technology Assessment to report to Congress on the Commission's effectiveness in carrying out its duties. States that the Commission shall cease to exist after December 31, 1990. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase the benefits in connection with the treatment of mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders of an individual who is not an inpatient at a hospital to a maximum of $1,000.00. Directs the Commission to conduct a study on the need for: (1) inclusion under Medicare of any additional professional mental health services; and (2) safeguards relating to cost, safety, and quality of such services. Requires the Commission to report its findings to the Secretary at the earliest practicable time. States that the Secretary shall submit such report with an analysis of the findings and the estimated cost of implementing them to Congress.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on August 6, 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 August 6, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
- 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 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?
SPARK MATSUNAGA (D-HI) introduced it on August 6, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 August 6, 1980, 16836 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16836 days ago, on August 6, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers