S.2425 - Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act

(Sec. 4) For 2017, CMS may exempt categories of eligible professionals from requirements for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) technology. Under current law, CMS may, on a case-by-case basis, exempt an eligible professional from certain negative payment adjustments that would otherwise apply due to the professional's failure to comply with those requirements.

(Sec. 5) The bill eliminates funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund. (The fund was established to make improvements under the original Medicare fee-for-service program.)

(Sec. 7) Under current law, CMS may contract with Medicare administrative contractors (MACs), which are private insurers that process Medicare claims within specified geographic jurisdictions. The bill requires CMS to provide specified incentives for MACs to reduce improper payment error rates within their jurisdictions.

(Sec. 9) The bill increases the scope of the Medicare-Medicaid Data Match Program (Medi-Medi Program), an existing program through which contractors and participating governmental agencies collaboratively analyze Medicare and Medicaid billing trends. CMS must establish a plan to encourage states to participate in the Medi-Medi Program.

H.R.2820 - Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015

S.1362 - A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to clarify waiver authority regarding programs of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE programs).

This bill amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive applicable general and Medicaid requirements of the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in order to conduct demonstration projects through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation(CMS Innovation Center) that involve PACE.

HHS may not, as part of a CMS Innovation Center demonstration, waive: (1) the requirement to offer items and services under Medicare and Medicaid without limitation to PACE program enrollees, and (2) certain requirements regarding enrollment in and disenrollment from PACE programs.

Learn more about the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) - here

H.R.623 - DHS Social Media Improvement Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a social media working group (the Group) to identify, and provide guidance and best practices to the emergency preparedness and response community on, the use of social media technologies before, during, and after a natural disaster or an act of terrorism or other man-made disaster.

Requires the Group to submit an annual report that includes:

• a review and analysis of social media technologies used to support preparedness and response activities;

• a review of best practices and lessons learned;

• recommendations to improve DHS's use of social media technologies for emergency management purposes, recommendations to improve public awareness of the type of information disseminated through such technologies, and recommendations on how to access such information during a disaster;

• a review of available training for government officials on the use of social media technologies in response to a disaster; and

• a review of coordination efforts with the private sector to discuss and resolve legal, operational, technical, privacy, and security concerns.

Terminates the Group five years after the enactment of this Act unless the chairperson renews it for a successive five-year period by submitting a certification that the continued existence of the Group is necessary. Provides for successive five-year renewal periods.

H.R.3116 - Quarterly Financial Report Reauthorization Act

(Sec. 2) This bill extends the authority of the Department of Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program through September 30, 2030, under which Commerce collects and publishes quarterly financial statistics of business operations, organization, practices, management, and relation to other businesses, including data on sales, expenses, assets, liabilities, and other measures of financial condition.

(Sec. 3) Commerce must conduct and report to specified congressional committees on a review of the data security procedures of the Bureau of the Census. Such report shall:

• identify all Bureau information systems that contain sensitive information;

• describe any actions carried out by Commerce or the Bureau to secure sensitive information since the data breaches of Office of Personnel Management systems were announced in 2015;

• identify any known data breaches of Bureau information systems that contain sensitive information; and

• identify whether the Bureau stores any information that, if combined with other information, would comprise classified information.

S.139 - Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 to repeal the sunset of, and so extend indefinitely, the exclusion from resources under titles XVI (Supplemental Security Income) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, for eligibility purposes, of compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by individuals who participate in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.

H.R.1624 - Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Public Health Service Act to include employers with 51 to 100 employees as large employers for purposes of health insurance markets. States have the option to treat these employers as small employers. Currently under PPACA, employers with 51 to 100 employees are small employers, but before January 1, 2016, states have the option to treat them as large employers. (Under PPACA, health insurance offered in the small group market must meet certain requirements that do not apply to the large group market, including the requirement to cover the essential health benefits.)

H.R.1626 - DHS IT Duplication Reduction Act of 2015

S.971 - Medicare Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Improvement Act of 2015

H.R.2 - Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015

H.R.33 - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that emergency services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

H.R.203 - Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act

(Sec. 2) Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) arrange for an independent third party evaluation, to be conducted by September 30, 2018, and each fiscal year thereafter, of the VA's mental health care and suicide prevention programs; and (2) submit a report to Congress, by December 1, 2018, and each year thereafter, containing the most recent evaluations not yet submitted to Congress and any recommendations the Secretary considers appropriate.

Directs the Secretary to submit interim reports to Congress by September 30, 2016, and September 30, 2017, on the VA's mental health care and suicide prevention programs.

(Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary to survey the VA's websites and information resources to publish a website that serves as a centralized source to provide veterans with information, updated at least once every 90 days, regarding the VA's mental health care services.

(Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the education loans relating to psychiatric medicine that are incurred by individuals who:

• are eligible to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) or are enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine;

• demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the VHA; and

• agree to a period of two or more years of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine, as determined by the Secretary.

Limits the loan repayment to no more than $30,000 for each year an individual performs such obligated service, as determined by the Secretary.

Directs the Secretary to submit interim and final reports to Congress on such pilot program.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year pilot program at not less than five Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to assist veterans transitioning from active duty and to improve the access of veterans to mental health services. Requires the pilot program at each VISN to include: (1) a community oriented veteran peer support network carried out in partnership with an entity that has experience in peer support programs, and (2) a community outreach team for each medical center in such VISN.

Directs the Secretary to submit interim and final reports to Congress on such pilot program.

(Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to collaborate with nonprofit mental health organizations to prevent suicide among veterans. Requires the Secretary and any such organization to exchange training sessions and best practices.

Directs the Secretary to select a VA Director of Suicide Prevention Coordination to undertake any collaboration with nonprofit mental health organizations.