Congressional Research Service Reports - 41 Matching Results
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- Veterans' Medical Care Appropriations and Funding Process
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans who meet certain eligibility rules. Benefits to veterans range from disability compensation and pensions to hospital and medical care. VA provides these benefits to veterans through three major operating units: the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the National Cemetery Administration (NCA). VHA is primarily a direct service provider of primary care, specialized care, and related medical and social support services to veterans through an integrated health care system. Veterans are enrolled in priority groups that determine payments for service and nonservice-connected medical conditions. In FY2004, Congress appropriated $28.4 billion for VHA to be spent through an account structure composed of four new accounts: medical services, medical administration, medical facilities, and medical and prosthetic research.
- Military Medical Care Services: Questions and Answers
- This report includes questions and answers regarding various military medical care services. What is the purpose of the Military Health Services System, who is eligible to receive this care, and what is the DOD pharmacy benefit are among questions asked and answered in this report.
- Stem Cell Research
- This report provides background on the research and potential applications of research that uses embryonic and adult stem cells. It also provides information about the current federal and state regulatory landscape, related Congressional and international actions, and relevant ethical concerns.
- Overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- This report examines the the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which creates a prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries and establishes a new Medicare Advantage program to replace the current Medicare+Choice program.
- FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products: A Policy and Legal Analysis
- This report examines the legislative debate over giving FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and provides some analysis of S. 2461/H.R. 4433. It begins with an overview of the FDA’s 1996 tobacco rule that includes a summary of the agency’s arguments for asserting jurisdiction over tobacco products. That is followed by an analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in FDA v. Brown & Williamson, which overturned the FDA tobacco rule. The report then reviews the 1997 proposed national tobacco settlement, which would have codified the FDA rule and given the agency explicit authority to regulate tobacco products as medical devices. It includes a discussion of the FDA provisions in the McCain tobacco bill, which was introduced and debated in the 105th Congress in an attempt to implement the proposed settlement. The final section of the report summarizes the provisions in S. 2461/H.R. 4433 and discusses some of the key issues, including preemption and the regulation of reduced-risk products.
- The Private Testing of Mad Cow Disease: Legal Issues
- This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after a single report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, proposed to conduct BSE rapid tests to be able to do exports, but USDA rejected this proposal since it implies as consumer safety rather than animal health. Updated December 3, 2004.
- The Private Testing of Mad Cow Disease: Legal Issues
- This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after a single report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, proposed to conduct BSE rapid tests to be able to do exports, but USDA rejected this proposal since it implies as consumer safety rather than animal health. Updated December 3, 2004.
- HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2003-FY2005
- This report discusses about US International HIV/AIDS Programs, HIV/AIDS in the foreign operations Appropriations, Labor/HHS Appropriations and other appropriations.
- HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2003-FY2005
- This report discusses about US international HIV/AIDS programs, HIV/AIDS in the foreign operations Appropriations, Labor/HHS Appropriations and other Appropriations.
- Influenza Vaccine Shortages and Implications
- No Description Available.
- Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research
- This report discusses issues regarding stem cell research. With certain restrictions, the President has announced that federal funds may be used to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells. Federal research is limited to "the more than 60" existing stem cell lines that were derived (1) with the informed consent of the donors; (2) from excess embryos created solely for reproductive purposes; and (3) without any financial inducements to the donors. No federal funds will be used for the derivation or use of stem cell lines derived from newly destroyed embryos; the creation of any human embryos for research purposes; or cloning of human embryos for any purposes.
- Military Medical Care Services: Questions and Answers
- No Description Available.
- Stem Cell Research
- No Description Available.
- Federal Funding for Unauthorized Aliens' Emergency Medical Expenses
- This report discusses the amount of money spent, as well as the amount of federal funds available to provide emergency medical care to unauthorized (illegal) aliens in the United States. It is extremely difficult to ascertain the amount of money spent for emergency medical care for unauthorized aliens since most hospitals do not ask patients their immigration status. Additionally, prior to the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-173) on December 8, 2003 there were no federal funds available for the specific purpose of reimbursing hospitals or states for emergency medical care provided to unauthorized aliens (undocumented immigrants).
- DNA Testing for Law Enforcement: Legislative Issues for Congress
- DNA evidence is a powerful forensic tool in criminal cases. Its use and capabilities have increased substantially since it was first introduced in the late 1980s. That growth has led to the emergence of the following issues that were considered by the 106th Congress in legislative initiatives: eliminating the nationwide backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples, expanding the kinds of offenders who are profiled, providing opportunities for post-conviction testing of DNA evidence, and continuing development of forensic science capabilities. This report discusses those and related issues and the legislation proposed and enacted to address them. It begins by describing provisions in prior federal law and then discusses issues and the legislation proposed, including the enacted DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (H.R. 4640, which became P.L. 106-546).
- Medical Malpractice Liability Reform: Legal Issues and Fifty-State Survey of Caps on Punitive Damages and Noneconomic Damages
- No Description Available.
- Medicare Endorsed Prescription Drug Discount Card Program
- No Description Available.
- Human Cloning
- This report provides information about the Human Cloning where a human embryo produced via cloning involves the process called somatic cell nuclear transfer. The nuclear of the egg is removed and replaced with a mature body cell.
- HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2003-FY2005
- No Description Available.
- Stem Cell Research
- This report provides background on the research and potential applications of research that uses embryonic and adult stem cells. It also provides information about the current federal and state regulatory landscape, related Congressional and international actions, and relevant ethical concerns.
- Stem Cell Research
- No Description Available.
- Importing Prescription Drugs: Objectives, Options, and Outlook
- No Description Available.
- HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2002-FY2005
- No Description Available.
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Requirements Concerning the Provision of Interpreters by Hospitals and Doctors
- This report briefly discusses the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by places of public accommodation. This report specifically discusses a common question of whether or not the ADA requires medical doctors and hospitals to provide an interpreter when they have a patient with a hearing disability.
- Tobacco Price Support: An Overview of the Program
- No Description Available.
- Implications of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit for State Budgets
- No Description Available.
- Immigration: Foreign Physicians and the J-1 Visa Waiver Program
- Report on the Educational and Cultural Exchange Visitor program and how it has been used for foreign medical graduates to enter the United States.
- Tobacco-Related Programs and Activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Operation and Cost
- No Description Available.
- AIDS in Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 26.6 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of the world's population but more than two-thirds of the worldwide total of infected people. This report discusses this issue in detail, including the cause of the African AIDS epidemic, the social and economic consequences, response and treatment, and U.S. policy.
- Medical Malpractice Liability Reform: Legal Issues and Fifty-State Survey of Caps on Punitive Damages and Noneconomic Damages
- No Description Available.
- AIDS in Africa
- Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 26.6 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of the world's population but more than two-thirds of the worldwide total of infected people. This report discusses this issue in detail, including the cause of the African AIDS epidemic, the social and economic consequences, response and treatment, and U.S. policy.
- Overview of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
- No Description Available.
- Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicaid
- Medicaid is a joint federal-state entitlement program that pays for medical services on behalf of certain groups of low-income persons. It is the third largest social program in the federal budget, exceeded only by Social Security and Medicare and is typically the second largest spending item for states. This report discusses prescription drug policies under the program.
- Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule
- This report discusses the issue facing Congress on whether to continue to support the executive branch’s prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medical use of botanical cannabis products by seriously ill persons, especially in states that have created medical marijuana programs under state law.
- Legal Issues Related to Prescription Drug Sales on the Internet
- No Description Available.
- Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), Including "Mad Cow Disease": Public Health and Scientific Issues
- This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after the first report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. This explains all the steps USDA has taken to reduce the positive cases of BSE by starting special programs. The efforts to identify and stop the spread of BSE and related disorders in humans, as well as the known and alleged threats to human health. It also looks at the scientific foundation for these initiatives. Updated March 1, 2004.
- Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), Including "Mad Cow Disease": Public Health and Scientific Issues
- This report provides information on how most of the countries banned United States beef after the first report of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in a Canadian-born cow after the December 2003 U.S. report. This explains all the steps USDA has taken to reduce the positive cases of BSE by starting special programs. The efforts to identify and stop the spread of BSE and related disorders in humans, as well as the known and alleged threats to human health. It also looks at the scientific foundation for these initiatives. Updated March 1, 2004.
- Medical Malpractice Liability Reform: Legal Issues and Fifty-State Survey of Caps on Punitive Damages and Noneconomic Damages
- No Description Available.
- HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2002-FY2004
- No Description Available.
- Prescription Drug Importation and Internet Sales: A Legal Overview
- No Description Available.
- The Hatch-Waxman Act: Proposed Legislative Changes Affecting Pharmaceutical Patents
- This record provides information about The Hatch-Waxman Act: Proposed Legislative Changes Affecting Pharmaceutical Patents. Congressional interests in the cost of Pharmaceuticals have focused attention on several areas where the federal government has policies and programs.