PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Oct 30, 1997
Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 1997 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with regard to advance directives in order to: (1) require service providers and eligible organizations to provide an appropriately trained professional for discussing advance directive issues with all adult individuals receiving medical care by or through such entities; and (2) ensure that an advance directive valid in one State will be honored in another State. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the implementation of this Act; and (2) all matters relating to the creation of a national uniform policy on advance directives. Requires the Secretary, through the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), National Institutes of Health, and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, to develop outcome standards and measures to evaluate the performance of health care programs and projects that provide end-of-life care to individuals and the quality of such care. Requires the Secretary, through HCFA, to: (1) establish and operate a clearinghouse and 24-hour toll-free telephone hotline to provide consumer information about advance directives and end-of-life decisionmaking; (2) conduct ongoing evaluations of innovative health care programs that provide end-of-life care to Medicare beneficiaries who are seriously ill or who suffer from a medical condition that is likely to be fatal; and (3) conduct demonstration projects to develop new and innovative approaches to providing end-of-life care to such Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the quality of end-of-life care under the Medicare program, together with any suggestions for legislation to improve the quality of such care under that program. Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, to provide for Medicare coverage of self-administered prescription drugs which are prescribed for the relief of chronic pain in patients with a life-threatening disease or condition.
People & committees
Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] · D–WV
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11451-11455)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 21, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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