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Medicaid Financing and Expenditures

Description: This report provides an overview of Medicaid’s financing structure, including both federal and state financing issues. The Medicaid expenditures section of the report discusses economic factors affecting Medicaid, state variability in spending, and projected program spending. Other issues that are examined include congressional proposals to turn Medicaid into a block grant program, federal deficit reduction proposals affecting Medicaid, and state fiscal conditions affecting Medicaid financing a… more
Date: July 30, 2012
Creator: Mitchell, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care: Constitutional Rights and Legislative Powers

Description: This report analyzes constitutional and legal issues pertaining to a right to health care, as well as the power of Congress to enact and fund health care programs. The report also discusses legal issues that have been raised regarding the power of Congress to mandate that individuals purchase health insurance, and the ability of states to "nullify" or "opt out" of such a requirement, following the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148).
Date: July 9, 2012
Creator: Swendiman, Kathleen S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts

Description: Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. FSAs are usually funded by employees through salary reduction agreements, although employers are permitted to contribute as well. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt. This report discusses two recent bills, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Health Care Cost Reduction Act o… more
Date: June 5, 2012
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts

Description: Health care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are benefit plans established by employers to reimburse employees for health care expenses such as deductibles and copayments. The contributions to and withdrawals from FSAs are tax-exempt. On June 7, 2012, the House passed H.R. 436, the Health Care Cost Reduction Act of 2012, which would allow up to $500 of unused balances in health FSAs to be distributed back to the account holder after the plan year ends and to allow over-the-counter prescriptio… more
Date: June 13, 2012
Creator: Mulvey, Janemarie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Care: Constitutional Rights and Legislative Powers

Description: The health care reform debate raises many complex issues including those of coverage, accessibility, cost, accountability, and quality of health care. Underlying these policy considerations are issues regarding the status of health care as a constitutional or legal right. This report analyzes constitutional and legal issues pertaining to a right to health care, as well as the power of Congress to enact and fund health care programs. Following the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable… more
Date: March 23, 2012
Creator: Swendiman, Kathleen S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: Issues for Congress and U.S. Contributions from FY2001 to FY2013

Description: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund, or the Fund) was established in 2002 as a public-private partnership that could provide significant financial support for global responses to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. In November 2011, the Global Fund Board announced that due to inadequate resources from donors, it would cancel its 11th round of funding, but would maintain support for existing activities to avoid disruptions in ongoing services. Global healt… more
Date: May 15, 2012
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji & Kendall, Alexandra E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Independent Payment Advisory Board

Description: In response, in part, to overall growth in Medicare program expenditures and growth in expenditures per Medicare beneficiary, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act created the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB, or the Board) and charged the Board with developing proposals to "reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending." This report discusses the responsibilities and duties.
Date: March 12, 2012
Creator: Hahn, Jim & Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Response to the Global Threat of Tuberculosis: Basic Facts

Description: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most widespread infectious diseases in the world, infecting an average of 9 million people annually. Although TB is curable, more than 1 million TB-related deaths occur each year. Due in part to a growing global response to TB, progress has been made in combating the disease. Globally, new TB infection rates have begun to slowly decline and TB mortality rates have decreased significantly since 1990. At the same time, absolute numbers of people infected with TB, p… more
Date: January 5, 2012
Creator: Kendal, Alexandra E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Neglected Tropical Diseases: Background, Responses, and Issues for Congress

Description: Over the past decade, global health has become a priority in U.S. foreign policy, more than tripling U.S. funding for such efforts. This report discusses neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of 17 diseases that are found primarily among the poorest people in 149 countries and territories. NTDs are an important focus of U.S. global health assistance and may come under scrutiny as the 112th Congress debates spending levels for ongoing global health programs.
Date: January 21, 2011
Creator: Salaam-Blyther, Tiaji
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety in the 111th Congress: H.R. 2749 and S. 510

Description: This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: December 1, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Williams, Erin D.; Burrows, Vanessa K.; Upton, Harold F. & Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety in the 111th Congress: H.R. 2749 and S. 510

Description: This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: October 7, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety in the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: September 23, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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TRICARE and VA Health Care: Impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

Description: The 111th Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and hereafter referred to as PPACA. This report addresses key questions concerning how PPACA affects the Department of Defense (DOD) TRICARE program and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care.
Date: September 30, 2010
Creator: Panangala, Sidath Viranga
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety in the 111th Congress: H.R. 2749 and S. 510

Description: This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: November 16, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée; Lister, Sarah A.; Williams, Erin D. & Burrows, Vanessa K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Food Safety in the 111th Congress: H.R. 2749 and S. 510

Description: This report discusses whether the current food safety system has the resources, authority, and structural organization to safeguard the health of American consumers, who spend more than $1 trillion on food each year. Also at issue is whether federal food safety laws, first enacted in the early 1900s, have kept pace with the significant changes that have occurred in the food production, processing, and marketing sectors since then.
Date: October 15, 2010
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Comparison of the Current World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program and the World Trade Center Health Program Proposed by Title I of H.R. 847

Description: This report compares the current federally supported medical screening and treatment program offered to various persons affected by the terrorist attack on New York City on September 11, 2001, with the federal program proposed to be established by Title I of H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010, as amended and passed by the House of Representatives. The World Trade Center (WTC) Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program (MMTP) and the World Trade Center Health Prog… more
Date: October 15, 2010
Creator: Szymendera, Scott & Lister, Sarah A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Employment-Based Health Coverage and Health Reform: Selected Legal Considerations

Description: It is estimated that nearly 170 million individuals have employer-based health coverage. As part of a comprehensive health care reform effort, there has been support (including from the Obama Administration) in enacting comprehensive health insurance reform that retains the employer-based system. This report presents selected legal considerations inherent in amending two of the primary federal laws governing employer-sponsored health care: the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and… more
Date: June 12, 2009
Creator: Staman, Jennifer & Liu, Edward C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medicaid Regulatory Issues

Description: This report provides a summary of seven proposed and final rules affecting the Medicaid program that were issued by the Bush Administration during 2007 and 2008. Six of the seven rules are currently under a congressional moratorium on further administrative action until April 1, 2009. A description of possible administrative and legislative actions to modify these rules, which could be taken by the next administration or the 111th Congress, is also provided.
Date: November 26, 2008
Creator: Herz, Elicia J. & Burrows, Vanessa K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Tax Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Insurance: Policy Issues Regarding the Repeal Debate

Description: Employer-provided health insurance is excluded from the determination of employees' federal income taxes, resulting in significant tax savings for many workers. The federal income tax exclusion -- the focus of this report -- is criticized for several reasons. These arguments about the exclusion merit careful consideration as Congress is starting to debate broad health care reform for the first time in 15 years. This report discusses this issue at length, including advantages and disadvantages t… more
Date: November 21, 2008
Creator: Lyke, Bob
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: An Overview and Selected Issues

Description: The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is a trilateral initiative that was launched in March 2005 for the purpose of increasing and enhancing security and prosperity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This initiative promoted communication and cooperation across several key policy areas of mutual interest, such as improving certain sectors of the economy, developing higher health and safety standards, and addressing environmental concerns. This report describes th… more
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles & Lake, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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World Health Organization: A Fact Sheet

Description: The World Health organization (WHO), established in 1948, is the United Nations system's authority on international public health issues. It assists governments in improving national health services and in establishing worldwide standards for foods, chemicals, and biological and pharmaceutical products. WHO concentrates on preventive rather than curative programs, including efforts to eradicate endemic and other widespread diseases, stabilize population growth, improve nutrition, sanitation, an… more
Date: July 1, 1996
Creator: McHugh, Lois
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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