PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9160-9182)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 27, 2005
Healthy America Act of 2005 - Patients First Act of 2005 - Sets forth provisions governing health care lawsuits, including provisions establishing a statute of limitations and limiting recovery of non-economic damages and punitive damages.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology to develop a nationwide interoperable health information technology infrastructure. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish the public-private American Health Information Collaborative; and (2) facilitate the electronic exchange of health information.
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary to: (1) develop quality measurement systems to provide value-based payments to providers; (2) establish a value-based purchasing pilot program; and (3) authorize waivers for states to establish such programs for state Medicaid programs.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary to maintain a patient safety network of databases to accept, aggregate, and analyze non-identifiable patient safety data voluntarily reported by patient safety organizations.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an advanceable credit for health insurance; (2) a deduction for premiums under a high deductible health plan; and (3) a credit for a small employer's contribution to an employee's health savings account.
Reauthorizes grants to states to create and operate high risk health insurance pools.
Covering Kids Act of 2005 - Amends Title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to provide awards for innovative outreach and enrollment efforts.
Allows the Secretary to make grants for qualified integrated health care systems that provide care to medically underserved populations. Provides coverage under Medicare and Medicaid for integrated health center services.
Allows a forbearance on student loans for volunteering at a free clinic.
People & committees
Sen. Frist, William H. [R-TN] · R–TN
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 S9160-9182)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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