Congressional Research Service Reports - 556 Matching Results

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Medicare Home Health Benefit Primer: Benefit Basics and Issues

Description: This report describes home health eligibility criteria, home health services, characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who use home health services, and home health providers. Further, this report describes in detail the Medicare home health prospective payment system (HH PPS), provides an overview of Medicare home health payments, and discusses issues for Congress related to the Medicare home health benefit.
Date: March 14, 2013
Creator: Talaga, Scott R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Abortion, Hospital Admitting Privileges, and Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole

Description: This report revolves around the contentious issue of admitting privileges as can be seen in Whole Woman's Health v. Cole. The report also includes information on how admitting privileges have been used to impose an undue burden on a woman's ability to seek abortions.
Date: September 25, 2015
Creator: Shimabukuro, Jon O.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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ACA: A Brief Overview of the Law, Implementation, and Legal Challenges

Description: This report summarizes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal challenges it has faced. The report contains information on various lawsuits due to the ACA and provides the reasoning behind them as Congress violating its enumerated powers in the constitution. Moreover, the report covers the challenges of implementing the law.
Date: July 3, 2012
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen; Chaikind, Hinda; Fernandez, Bernadette & Staman, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mental Health Parity and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

Description: This report provides a brief background on mental health parity and the policy discussion around parity in health insurance coverage; an overview of federal mental health parity law prior to the enactment of the ACA; and an analysis of the impact of the ACA.
Date: December 28, 2011
Creator: Sarata, Amanda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Affordable Care Act (ACA): Employer Shared Responsibility Determinations and Potential Penalties

Description: This report describes the potential employer penalties related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) as well as regulations to implement the ACA employer provisions. The regulations address insurance coverage requirements, methodologies for determining whether a worker is considered full time, provisions relating to seasonal workers and corporate franchises, and other reporting requirements.
Date: April 10, 2015
Creator: Whittaker, Julie M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Addressing Medicare Hospital Readmissions

Description: This report highlights the issue of one-fifth of medicare patients in 2005 being readmitted to a hospital within thirty days time. These readmissions put a strain on the budget, the majority of which it is estimated may be avoidable. The report notes that Medicare as a program is working on moving around those difficulties, without reducing the quality of care.
Date: May 25, 2012
Creator: Tilson, Sibyl
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Proposed Rule on Medicaid Managed Care: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report responds to a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) identified to address some of the major updates included in the proposed rule. The FAQs summarize provisions such as the introduction of a minimum medical loss ratio (MLR), guidance on enrolling the long-term services and supports (LTSS) population in managed care, and network adequacy.
Date: July 15, 2015
Creator: Blom, Kirstin B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicaid: A Primer

Description: This report describes the basic elements of Medicaid, focusing on federal rules governing who is eligible, what services are covered, how the program is financed and how beneficiaries share in the cost, how providers are paid, and the role of special waivers in expanding eligibility and modifying benefits. The recently passed Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 or DRA, as amended by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, included many provisions affecting Medicaid. DRA provides states with oppor… more
Date: January 24, 2007
Creator: Herz, Elicia J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hurricane Katrina: Medicaid Issues

Description: This report discusses the following: Medicaid’s rules on eligibility, benefits, and financing in the context of current questions and issues raised by Hurricane Katrina. Recent state actions in response to Medicaid issues raised by the hurricane. Federal Medicaid waiver authority, including information on current activity in this area and the New York Disaster Relief Medicaid waiver granted in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Current federal legislation related to Medicaid and Hu… more
Date: November 18, 2005
Creator: Baumrucker, Evelyne P.; Grady, April; Hearne, Jean P. & Herz, Elicia J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ergonomics in the Workplace: Is It Time for an OSHA Standard?

Description: This report debates implementing an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standard for ergonomics. This standard would be motivated by the fact that one third of state employer's costs are related to improper ergonomic design causing illness. The report details that standards suggested in the past have been rejected by Congress.
Date: May 7, 2002
Creator: Rappaport, Edward
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Budget: Fact Sheet

Description: This report summarizes the goals and focus of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The AHRQ is a piece of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which is meant to improve the quality of health care, enhance the delivery of health care, and increase the amount of access people have to health services. Moreover, the report covers how the AHRQ is financed and debates how it will continue to be so.
Date: August 4, 2015
Creator: Sarata, Amanda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Use of the Annual Appropriations Process to Block Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (FY2011-FY2016)

Description: This report summarizes the language related to the Affordable Care (ACA) that was added to annual appropriations legislation by congressional appropriators since the ACA was signed into law. The information is presented in a table. While a detailed examination of the ACA itself is beyond the scope of this report, a brief overview of the ACA's core provisions and its impact on federal spending is provided as context for the material in the table. Congress remains deeply divided over implementati… more
Date: January 5, 2016
Creator: Redhead, C. S. & Cornell, Ada S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Use of Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) in Federal Health Programs

Description: This report explores how modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is defined differently across health programs such as Medicare, the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and Medicaid. It also discusses why MAGI is used, and how it is applied, specific to each program. The report covers that MAGI is used to determine (1) penalty amounts owed if a person does not comply with the individual mandate or whether an individual is exempt from the individual mandate; (2) eligibi… more
Date: February 25, 2016
Creator: Baumrucker, Evelyne P.; Davis, Patricia A.; Fernandez, Bernadette; Mach, Annie L. & Pettit, Carol A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicare Structural Reform: Background and Options

Description: THis report provides a brief overview of major issues underlying the debate about possible structural reforms or improvements to the current Medicare system. Medicare is a nationwide health insurance program for the aged and certain disabled persons.
Date: January 28, 2003
Creator: Chaikind, Hinda R.; O'Sullivan, Jennifer & Boulanger, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care Spending: Past Trends and Projections

Description: This report focuses on trends in personal health care spending, which includes spending on health care goods and services provided to individuals and excludes expenditures for administrative costs, research, and public health activities. Personal health care expenditures have grown considerably over the past 40 years. It is estimated that personal health spending will exceed $2.9 trillion in 2013.
Date: April 8, 2004
Creator: Morgan, Paulette C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC): In Brief

Description: This report describes the eligibility criteria for the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) and the types of health insurance to which the tax credit may be applied. The tax credit's purpose is to make the purchase of health insurance more affordable for eligible individuals. The HCTC has a sunset date of January 1, 2020. The report also briefly describes the administration of the HCTC program and receipt of the credit by eligible taxpayers; it concludes with a summary of the HCTC's statutory hist… more
Date: February 18, 2016
Creator: Fernandez, Bernadette
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Implications of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit for Dual Eligibles and State Medicaid Programs

Description: This report discusses the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA, P.L. 108-173), which added a new Medicare prescription drug benefit, implemented in January 2006. This report focuses on MMA provisions that added a voluntary prescription drug benefit under a new Medicare Part D, and the effect of this new benefit both on individuals who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, and on state Medicaid programs.
Date: January 19, 2006
Creator: Tritz, Karen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Puerto Rico and Health Care Finance: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how federal health care programs and requirements are implemented in Puerto Rico, including information about eligibility, coverage, program requirements, and payment rules. Examples provided in the FAQs illustrate that in many circumstances, some health programs in Puerto Rico differ from programs in the US, while in other circumstances, Puerto Rico is treated the same as the states. As such, these questions and answers sh… more
Date: February 3, 2016
Creator: Mach, Annie L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Ebola Outbreak: Quarantine and Isolation Authority

Description: This legal sidebar discusses recent quarantine policies announced by several states, including New York and New Jersey, for travelers arriving from areas affected by the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease, which have raised legal and constitutional questions about federal and state authority to order quarantine and isolation measures.
Date: October 28, 2014
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Medical Care Services: Questions and Answers

Description: This report attempts to answer basic questions about the Military Health Services System (MHSS), its beneficiary population, the medical services it provides, its costs, and major changes that are underway or have been proposed. Citations are made to more detailed CRS studies where appropriate.
Date: January 26, 2005
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Discretionary Spending Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Description: This report examines the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) effects on discretionary spending. It first discusses all the ACA authorizations (and reauthorizations) of appropriations for grant and other programs; this information, along with actual funding amounts, is summarized in a series of tables. The report then reviews the ACA administrative costs borne by CMS and the IRS.
Date: January 13, 2016
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen; Colello, Kirsten J.; Heisler, Elayne J.; Lister, Sarah A. & Sarata, Amanda K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Benefits for Health Insurance: Current Legislation

Description: This report discusses a variety of potential proposals to change the tax benefits for health insurance and medical expenses, including measures that would expand the availability and attractiveness of health savings accounts (HSAs), or employer tax credits.
Date: February 6, 2006
Creator: Lyke, Bob
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health-Related Tax Expenditures: Overview and Analysis

Description: This report analyzes health-related tax expenditures together at the budget function level, rather than focusing on the size of any single provision. To provide some insights into common questions about health-related expenditures, this report analyzes historical data on health-related tax expenditure estimates published by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).
Date: January 8, 2016
Creator: Lowry, Sean
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Provisions of the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762

Description: This report includes a table listing all provisions in H.R. 3762 and the Senate amendment to H.R. 3762 that would amend or repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions. It also provides a brief explanation of the provisions included in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762.
Date: February 1, 2016
Creator: Mach, Annie L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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