PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S184-204)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 24, 2005
Affordable Health Care Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise provisions governing the importation of prescription drugs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations allowing the importation of prescription drugs from certain countries.
Allows the Secretary to require the sponsor of an approved drug to conduct one or more studies that confirms or refutes a credible hypothesis of a significant safety issue.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the Office of Health Information Technology to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery through the use of health information technology.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish uniform health care quality measures and public reporting requirements across all federally supported health delivery programs.
Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States the option to expand or add coverage of children, pregnant women, and legal immigrants under titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP).
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain small business employers a refundable tax credit for a portion of their employee health insurance costs.
Amends SSA to set forth provisions (as a new title XXII) addressing health insurance coverage for small businesses.
People & committees
Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA] · D–MA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S184-204)
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S183-184)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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