Community Mental Health Assistance Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Finance.
Community Mental Health Assistance Act of 1979 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include among the services provided under such title: (1) outpatient services by community mental health centers for up to 25 visits per year; and (2) partial hospitalization services by a community mental health center for up to 60 visits per year. Stipulates that the 190 days of inpatient psychiatric hospital services to which an individual is entitled under title XVIII during a lifetime shall be reduced by one day for every three partial hospitalization visits to a community mental health center. Sets forth the conditions of and limitations on payments for community mental health center services, including criteria for utilization review plans of community mental health centers and transfer agreements between hospitals and community mental health centers. Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to include among the benefits which may be provided under such Act partial hospitalization services and outpatient services furnished by a community mental health center.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 22, 1979. 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 February 22, 1979: 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?
ROBERT STAFFORD (R-VT) introduced it on February 22, 1979, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
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 February 22, 1979, 17367 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17367 days ago, on February 22, 1979.
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