Download - Vital Healthcare Act
A BILL
To provide affordable government funding for vital healthcare services
to all legal American citizens while keeping intact market
competitiveness and quality of care in both the public and private
sectors, and preventing such healthcare services from funding, or
participating with in any way abortions or abortion providers.
____________________________________
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in 1
the United States of America in Congress assembled,2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS4
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be referred to as the "Vital 5
Healthcare Act". 6
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this 7
Act is as follows:8
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; general definitions
Sec. 2. General effective date
TITLE I—ABORTION EXCLUSION
Sec. 101. No Abortions Clause
TITLE II—PUBLIC SECTOR
Part A—Defining Basic Healthcare Rights
Sec. 201. Definition of a Healthcare Recipient
Sec. 202. Methodology for Determination of Essential Healthcare Services
Sec. 203. Essential Healthcare Services Defined
Sec. 204. Non-Essential Healthcare Services Defined
Sec. 205. Reimbursed Healthcare Services Defined
Sec. 206. Healthcare Service Restrictions
Part B—Grant Process for Hospital Providers of Basic Healthcare
Sec. 207. Vital Healthcare Agencies
Sec. 208. Starting Grants
Sec. 209. Process of Determining Starting Grant Allowances
Sec. 210. Extended and Diminished Grants
Sec. 211. Compiling Cumulative Rating Averages
2
Sec. 212. Additional Fiscal Reimbursements to VHAs
Part C—Forming of a Regulating Committee for Basic Healthcare
Sec. 213. Design of the Committee on Vital Healthcare
Sec. 214. Voting Process of the Committee on Vital Healthcare
Sec. 215. Duties of the Committee on Vital Healthcare
Sec. 216. Bureau of Vital Healthcare
Sec. 217. Server for Vital Healthcare
Sec. 218. Confidentiality
Part D—Process of Providing Basic Healthcare
Sec. 219. Medical Feedback Centers
Sec. 220. Duties of the Feedback Center Representative
Sec. 221. Healthcare Recipient Cards
Sec. 222. Healthcare Entrance Machines
Sec. 223. Healthcare Voting Machines
Part E—Public Accountability Structure
Sec. 224. Feedback Center Surveillance as Assurance of Proper Voting Process
Sec. 225. Process of Making Video Surveillance Publicly Accessible
Sec. 226. Encouragement of Citizen Watchdog Groups
TITLE III—PRIVATE SECTOR
Sec. 301. Maintaining the Current Private Sector
TITLE VI—TORT REFORM
Sec. 401. Hospital Lawsuits
Sec. 402. Employee Hours
Sec. 403. Accountability for Public Officials
Sec. 404. Judicial Transparency Website
TITLE V—PROVIDING SUBSIDIES FOR MEDICAL EDUCATORS
Sec. 501. Subsidies for Medical Instructors
Sec. 502. Subsidy Formulation for Medical Instructors
Sec. 503. Cap On Subsidy-Increased Salaries
Sec. 504. Federal Aid for Medicals Professionals Seeking To Become Educators
TITLE VI—HEALTH INSURANCE REGULATION
Sec. 601. Ban On Ownership in Tobacco and Nicotine Companies
Sec. 602. Restrictions On Pre-Existing Conditions
TITLE VII-APPROPRIATIONS
Sec. 701. The Vital Healthcare Fund
(c) GENERAL DEFINITIONS.—Except as otherwise provided, 1
in this Act:2
3
(1) HOSPITAL.—The term "Hospital" as defined in this 1
Act has the meaning assigned in section 1861(e) of the Social 2
Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395x].3
(2) VITAL HEALTHCARE AGENCY.—The term "Vital 4
Healthcare Agency" or "VHA" has the meaning given such term 5
under section 207(a).6
(3) HEALTHCARE RECIPIENT.—The term "Healthcare 7
Recipient" has the meaning given such term under section 8
201(a).9
(4) BUREAU OF VITAL HEALTHCARE.—The term 10
"Bureau of Vital Healthcare" as it is used in this Act refers to 11
the regulating bureau overseeing Vital Healthcare Agencies, 12
which has as its leadership the Committee of Vital Healthcare, 13
and the purpose and duties of which are outlined in section 216.14
(5) HEALTHCARE SERVICES.—The term "healthcare 15
services" as it is used in this Act refers specifically to the 16
Essential Healthcare Services and Reimbursed Healthcare 17
Services for which Vital Healthcare Agencies are federally 18
funded by this Act to provide. 19
(6) MEDICAL FEEDBACK CENTER.—The term 20
"Medical Feedback Center" or "MFC" has the meaning given 21
such term under section 219(a).22
(7) FEEDBACK CENTER REPRESENTATIVE.—The 23
term "Feedback Center Representative" has the meaning given 24
such term under section 220(a). 25
(8) COMMITTEE OF VITAL HEALTHCARE.—The term 26
"Committee of Vital Healthcare" as it is used in this Act refers 27
to the leadership committee regulating and overseeing the 28
Bureau of Vital Healthcare and established for the purposes 29
listed in section 213(a). 30
4
(9) SERVER FOR VITAL HEALTHCARE.—The term 1
"Server for Vital Healthcare" or "SVH" has the meaning given 2
such term under section 217(a).3
(10) HEALTHCARE ENTRANCE MACHINE.—The term 4
"Healthcare Entrance Machine" or "HEM" has the meaning 5
given such term under section 222(a).6
(11) HEALTHCARE VOTING MACHINE.—The term 7
"Healthcare Voting Machine" has the meaning given such term 8
under section 223(a).9
(12) ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES.—The term 10
"Essential Healthcare Services" refers to those services 11
specified in section 203(a).12
(13) NON-ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES.—13
The term "Non-Essential Healthcare Services" refers to those 14
services specified in section 204(a).15
(14) REIMBURSED HEALTHCARE SERVICES.—The 16
term "Reimbursed Healthcare Services" refers to those services 17
specified in section 205(a).18
(15) HEALTHCARE RECIPIENT CARD.—The term 19
"Healthcare Recipient Card" has the meaning given such term 20
under section 221(a). 21
(16) STARTING GRANT.—The term "Starting Grant" has 22
the meaning given such term under section 208(a).23
(17) DIMINISHED GRANT.—The term "Diminished 24
Grant" has the meaning given such term under section 210(a). 25
(18) EXTENDED GRANT.—The term "Extended Grant" 26
has the meaning given such term under section 210(a).27
(19) VHA DISTRICT.—The term "VHA District" has the 28
meaning given such term under section 209(a).29
5
(20) CUMULATIVE RATING AVERAGE.—The term 1
"Cumulative Rating Average" or "CRA" has the meaning given 2
such term under section 211(a).3
(21) VHA APPROVAL RATING.—The term "VHA 4
Approval Rating" has the meaning given such term under 5
section 210(b)(1).6
(22) PUBLIC SECTOR.—The term "Public Sector" as used 7
in this Act refers specifically to U.S. Government-funded 8
healthcare services.9
(23) PRIVATE SECTOR.—The term "Private Sector" as 10
used in this Act refers specifically to healthcare services that are 11
not funded by the U.S. Government.12
(24) FEEDBACK CENTER SURVEILLANCE 13
SYSTEM.—The term "Feedback Center Surveillance System" 14
or "FCSS" has the meaning given such term under section 15
224(a).16
(25) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.—17
The term "Personally Identifiable Information" or "PII" has the 18
meaning given such term under section 218(b).19
(26) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—The term 20
"identification number" refers to the unique system-assigned 21
identification number for a given Healthcare Recipient upon 22
receiving a Healthcare Recipient Card as specified in section 23
221(b)(2).24
(27) BARCODE.—The term "barcode" refers to the unique 25
system-assigned identification number for a given Healthcare 26
Recipient upon receiving a Healthcare Recipient Card as 27
specified in section 221(b)(3).28
(28) PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE.—The term 29
"Public Transparency Website" refers to the publicly accessible 30
website to be created for purposes of easy-access voting on 31
6
received healthcare services and viewing FCSS video footage 1
for purposes of system accountability, as specified in section 2
225(a).3
SEC. 2. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE4
Except as otherwise specified within this act, all committees, 5
bureaus, services, grants, laws, etc. set forth within this act are to take 6
effect on the exact date on which this Act is enacted into law.7
TITLE I—ABORTION EXCLUSION8
SEC 101. NO ABORTIONS CLAUSE9
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or this Act's language 10
may be construed as providing additional government funding for 11
abortion services. Abortion, for purposes of this Act alone, will not be 12
considered healthcare for all of the reasons stated in section 202(a)(3).13
(b) STATED BOUNDARIES. —All committees, bureaus, 14
services, grants, laws, etc. that are funded by, created by, or instituted 15
by this Act are to remain free of and separate from abortion providers 16
and abortion services. Hospitals and Vital Healthcare Agencies that 17
choose to fund abortions must not do so in facilities or upon grounds 18
funded by this Act. Under no conditions are any committees, bureaus, 19
or grants instituted by this Act to coordinate with abortion groups. 20
(c) EMPLOYEE RESTRICTIONS.—The following restrictions 21
are to apply to all employees of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare and its 22
departments, which Bureau excludes Vital Healthcare Agencies but not 23
Medical Feedback Centers and Feedback Center Representatives:24
(1) No employees of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare may 25
have in their work history employment by an organization 26
whose primary purpose was to provide abortions, or have past 27
affiliation with such an organization through volunteer activities 28
for said organization or a daughter organization of such an 29
organization whose primary purpose was to provide abortions, 30
without signing the following statement: "I publicly denounce 31
7
my former cooperation with organizations who provided 1
abortions and agree not to use my employment with the Bureau 2
of Vital Healthcare to support organizations who provide 3
abortions, or to endorse abortions or organizations whose 4
primary purpose is to provide abortions, while in representation 5
of or employment by the Bureau of Vital Healthcare." 6
Employees or potential employees of the Bureau of Vital 7
Healthcare Employees of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare 8
discovered with such past history who refuse to sign this 9
statement are to be fired or not employed. 10
(2) New employees of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare must 11
sign the following statement prior to employment by the Bureau 12
of Vital Healthcare: "I agree not to use my employment as a 13
representative of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare to endorse 14
organizations whose primary purpose is to provide abortions, or 15
to endorse abortion to members of the general public while an 16
employee of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare. I agree not to 17
involve myself with organizations whose primary purpose is to 18
provide abortions while I am employed by the Bureau of Vital 19
Healthcare, either during work hours or outside of my 20
workplace, and to disclose in writing to the Bureau of Vital 21
Healthcare any such past instances of said involvement. I 22
understand that violation of these terms will mean termination 23
of my employment with the Bureau of Vital Healthcare." 24
(3) Employees discovered to be supporting organizations 25
that provide abortions either during work hours for the Bureau 26
of Vital Healthcare or outside the Bureau of Vital Healthcare 27
though employed by the Bureau of Vital Healthcare, or to be 28
endorsing abortion activities to the general public during work 29
hours for the Bureau of Vital Healthcare are to be immediately 30
8
fired, with no provision for re-employment so long as evidence 1
of innocence in such matter is not clearly evidenced. 2
(d) CLAUSE INHERENT TO ACT AND NOT TO AFFECT 3
ROE V. WADE.—Nothing in this Act or this Act's language may be 4
construed as affecting Roe v. Wade outside of and apart from this Act 5
and the services, governing bodies, laws, etc. instituted by it. Federal 6
services, laws, governing bodies, etc. in place before the institution of 7
this Act shall remain unaffected by this Act.8
(e) NECESSARY AND CONDITIONED SECTION.—9
Removal of, or changes to this section require that this entire Act 10
become null and void, along with all committees, bureaus, services, 11
grants, laws, etc. that are instituted and/or funded by this Act. This Act 12
is to avoid all involvement with organizations that seek to provide 13
abortions. The word 'all' as used in the previous sentence refers to all 14
points in time, past, present, and future.15
TITLE II—PUBLIC SECTOR16
PART A—DEFINING BASIC HEALTHCARE RIGHTS17
SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF A HEALTHCARE RECIPIENT18
(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, a Healthcare 19
Recipient shall be defined as a legalized American citizen, and thus 20
eligible to receive U.S. government-funded services from a Vital 21
Healthcare Agency. 22
(b) PROCESS OF PROVING CITIZENSHIP.—The process for 23
establishing citizenship referred to in section 220(b)(1) shall use those 24
forms required by the U.S. Census Bureau's BC-170D as of May 3, 25
2006, namely the provision of one document from List A or List B, and 26
one document from List C, as found within the section titled 27
"Identification you need to bring to the testing site".28
(1) Upon presentation of the adequate documents by a 29
prospective Healthcare Recipient to the Feedback Center 30
Representative in a Medical Feedback Center, the Feedback 31
9
Center Representative shall use electronic means to verify the 1
data provided and establish identity.2
(2) Upon the establishment of a person's identity via 3
presentation of acceptable documents and electronic 4
verification, the Feedback Center Representative of a Medical 5
Feedback Center shall fingerprint the Healthcare Recipient; 6
which fingerprints shall then be scanned into the Server for 7
Vital Healthcare for future use with Healthcare Entrance 8
Machines.9
(c) RIGHT TO SERVICES.—All Healthcare Recipients shall 10
have the rights to receive the medical services specified within this Act, 11
and to provide feedback on said services so long as it does not 12
constitute a violation of section 206 or section 224. Discrimination that 13
results in a denial of healthcare services, or intentional tampering with 14
a Healthcare Recipient's right to receive said healthcare services and/or 15
provide feedback about such services so long as it does not violate 16
section 204 or section 206, shall be considered a violation of Federal 17
law and punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to 5 years in 18
jail.19
SEC 202. METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINATION OF 20
ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES21
(a) METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING ESSENTIAL 22
HEALTHCARE SERVICES DEFINED.—As defined by this Act, such 23
vital healthcare services are based on the following principles (for 24
purposes of this Act, these principles apply solely to the language of 25
this Act, without affecting other U.S. law or federal services, including 26
Roe v. Wade):27
(1) NO FAULT.—High-risk lifestyle choices such as 28
alcoholism and smoking are controllable and thus whose 29
consequence, i.e. related healthcare treatment, should be borne 30
by the individual, and not the society.31
10
(2) ESSENTIAL RIGHTS.—To what degree does the 1
healthcare assist in the Constitutional, inalienable rights of the 2
individual, first life, then liberty, and finally the pursuit of 3
happiness? Healthcare that is based upon choice as opposed to 4
inalienable rights, e.g. cosmetic surgery, shall not be borne by 5
American taxpayers, for with choices must come personal 6
consequence and responsibility.7
(3) NO HARM.—Healthcare that harms another's 8
Constitutional, inalienable rights in the process apart from their 9
consent should not be borne by society, but by the individual, if 10
allowed at all (e.g. abortion). For purposes of this Act, the U.S. 11
government shall err on the side of caution when potentially 12
taking another human being's life, with the burden of proof 13
upon the party seeking to potentially infringe upon another 14
individual's inalienable rights that, as stated by the Declaration 15
of Independence, are dependent upon a Creator and no other 16
individual's opinion, desire for said individual, or estimation.17
(4) EFFICIENCY AND CONSISTENCY.—Essential 18
services must have a proven track record of consistently 19
providing measurable, consistent, and curative gains in the 20
quality of a person's basic health; i.e. healthcare which is clearly 21
beneficial. Rarely tested drugs of dubious, highly varying, or 22
ill-tested effect, or whose outcome is difficult to quantify, e.g. 23
medicinal depression treatments, are not reliably effective 24
enough for cost sharing by American taxpayers until proven 25
otherwise.26
SEC 203. ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES DEFINED27
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Essential Healthcare Services" 28
as defined in this Act refers to the following healthcare services which 29
must be provided by all Vital Healthcare Agencies. Hospitals that 30
cannot or will not provide such services to all legal American citizens 31
11
will not be recognized as Vital Healthcare Agencies eligible for 1
Starting Grants: 2
(1) Vaccinations required by U.S. Law, recommended by 3
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or recommended 4
by the American Medical Association5
(2) Basic medical checkups (maximum of 1 per fiscal year 6
per individual)7
(3) Physicals as required by a public school8
(4) Intensive Care9
(5) Well baby and well child exams (maximum of 3 visits 10
per child)11
(6) Prenatal and Postnatal Care12
(7) Treatment of broken and fractured bones13
(8) Treatment of torn ligaments14
(9) Treatment of damaged tendons15
(10) Treatment for damaged muscles16
(11) Treatment for deafness/damaged hearing17
(12) Treatment for blindness/damaged eyesight18
(13) Treatment for hemorrhaging19
(14) Treatment for paralysis20
(15) Treatment for choking21
(16) Treatment for Stroke22
(17) Treatment for Epilepsy23
(18) Treatment for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders24
(19) Breast cancer treatment25
(20) Lung cancer treatment26
(21) Colorectal cancer treatment27
(22) Gynecologic cancer treatment28
(23) Skin cancer treatment29
(24) Prostate cancer treatment30
(25) Liver disease treatment31
12
(26) Heart disease treatment1
(27) Arthritis treatment2
(28) Diabetes treatment3
(29) Hepatitis treatment4
(30) Asthma treatment5
(31) Bronchitis treatment6
(32) Heart bypass surgery7
(33) Treatment of Trichomoniasis (to consist of a maximum 8
of 2 separate dosages of prescription drugs for treatment each 9
15 years)10
(34) Treatment of Chlamydia (to consist of a maximum of 2 11
separate dosages of prescription drugs for treatment each 15 12
years)13
(35) Treatment of Gonorrhea (to consist of a maximum of 2 14
separate dosages of prescription drugs for treatment each 15 15
years)16
(36) Treatment of Genital Herpes and Herpes Simplex Virus 17
1 and 2 (to consist of a maximum of 2 separate dosages of 18
prescription drugs for treatment each 15 years)19
(37) Treatment of Syphilis (to consist of a maximum of 2 20
separate dosages of prescription drugs for treatment each 15 21
years)22
(38) Treatment of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (to consist 23
of a maximum of 2 separate dosages of prescription drugs for 24
treatment each 15 years)25
(39) Treatment of Acanthomoeba infection26
(40) Treatment of African Trypanosomiasis27
(41) Treatment of Alveolar Echinococcosis28
(42) Treatment of Amebiasis29
(43) Treatment of Anaplasmosis30
(44) Treatment of Anisakiasis31
13
(45) Treatment of Arenaviruses1
(46) Treatment of Ascariasis2
(47) Treatment of Aspergillosis3
(48) Treatment of Avian influenza virus4
(49) Treatment of B Virus5
(50) Treatment of Babesiosis6
(51) Treatment of Bacterial Vaginosis7
(52) Treatment of Balantidiasis8
(53) Treatment of Baylisascaris infection9
(54) Treatment of Botulism10
(55) Treatment of Capillariasis11
(56) Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease12
(57) Treatment of Clonorchis Infection13
(58) Treatment of Clostridium Difficile14
(59) Treatment of Dipylidium Infection15
(60) Treatment for E. Coli16
(61) Treatment for Giardiasis17
(62) Treatment of H1N1 Flu18
(63) Treatment of Klebsiella Pneumoniae19
(64) Treatment of Lyme disease20
(65) Treatment for Meningitis21
(66) Treatment of Pneumoconioses22
(67) Treatment of Pneumonia23
(68) Treatment for Staphylococcus aureus and Healthcare-24
Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus25
(69) Treatment for Scabies26
(70) Treatment for Salmonella27
(71) Treatment of Tetanus28
(72) Treatment for Tuberculosis29
(73) Prescription drugs for the above approved purposes that 30
have been approved by the FDA31
14
(b) PROVISION FOR UPDATING.—The list in section 203(a) 1
may be updated by the Committee on Vital Healthcare as outlined in 2
section 215(a)(2)(A).3
(c) LIFE-SAVING CARE.—Emergency life-saving care is to 4
be provided on the assumption that an individual is a Healthcare 5
Recipient regardless of status of an individual as a Healthcare 6
Recipient, and as such will be federally reimbursed regardless of 7
whether an individual is a Healthcare Recipient or not. Use of 8
emergency vehicles for said purpose will also be considered an 9
Essential Healthcare Service.10
SEC. 204. NON-ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES 11
DEFINED12
(a) DEFINITION.—The following healthcare services will not 13
be federally paid for using government funds distributed to Vital 14
Healthcare Agencies:15
(1) In Vitro Fertilisation16
(2) Alcoholism treatment17
(3) Gastric Bypass Surgery18
(4) Cosmetic Surgery19
(5) Midwives20
(6) Depression treatment21
(7) Reconstructive Surgery22
(8) Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease23
(9) Chronic Fatigue Syndrome24
(b) PROVISION FOR UPDATING.—The list in section 204(a)25
may be updated by the Committee on Vital Healthcare as outlined in 26
section 215(a)(2)(B).27
(c) CONDITIONS.—In the cases of cancers/tumors and 28
unintended appearance-altering emergencies (e.g. facial damage as the 29
result of 3rd-degree burns) Reconstructive Surgery may be considered 30
an aspect of treatment and in such event that it is necessary for 31
15
reconstruction, to correct an abnormality caused by a cancer, tumor, or 1
accident, an Essential Healthcare Service and funded as such.2
(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHANGE TO ESSENTIAL 3
HEALTHCARE SERVICE.—Treatments of Depression and 4
Alzheimer's Disease may not be added to section 203(a) and the list of 5
Essential Healthcare Services, save for those treatments indisputably 6
shown to provide substantial curative effects within 2 months in at least 7
80% of cases diagnosed. 8
SEC. 205. REIMBURSED HEALTHCARE SERVICES DEFINED9
(a) DEFINITION.—The following healthcare services are not 10
required for Vital Healthcare Agencies to provide, if said Vital 11
Healthcare Agencies do not have the technology or personnel needed to 12
perform such services, however, if provided, they are to be reimbursed 13
in the same way that Essential Healthcare Services under section 203 14
are reimbursed, including the provision of prescription drugs:15
(b) PROVISION FOR UPDATING.—This list in section 205(a) 16
may be updated by the Committee on Vital Healthcare as outlined in 17
section 213(a)(2)(C).18
(c) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE.—A Vital Healthcare 19
Agency that at any time after January 1st, 2011 provides any of the 20
services specified in section 205(a) is required to afterwards make 21
available such service(s) previously provided to a Healthcare Recipient 22
to all Healthcare Recipients. By providing at any time after January 1st, 23
2011, one of the section 205(b) Reimbursed Healthcare Services to a 24
Healthcare Recipient, a Vital Healthcare Agency will demonstrate its 25
capability of providing said service and have as its obligation to make 26
said service available in the future, so that such a service will not be 27
discriminatorily provided in select circumstances. 28
SEC. 206. HEALTHCARE SERVICE RESTRICTIONS29
(a) PURPOSES.—The purpose for restricting treatment is to 30
avoid an unnecessary burden upon American taxpayers and the 31
16
American government in treating those who violate the section 1
202(a)(1) "NO FAULT" rule. The purpose for an effective date is to 2
allow those currently indulging in high-risk behaviors time to reform 3
their lifestyles and avoid the penalties of this section. 4
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Beginning on January 1st, 2015, and 5
not before, the entirety of this section shall take effect.6
(c) RESTRICTED TREATMENT FOR 7
TOBACCO/NICOTINE USERS.—Healthcare recipients determined to 8
be using tobacco or nicotine products by a Vital Healthcare Agency 9
that are not for cessation purposes, as evidenced by clear symptoms 10
during medical diagnosis, will not be eligible for the following 11
healthcare services, that would otherwise be federally paid for using 12
government funds distributed to Vital Healthcare Agencies, for a period 13
of 3 years, beginning on the date which said determination was made, 14
after which time tobacco/nicotine use will be re-evaluated upon request 15
by the Vital Healthcare Agency: 16
(1) Lung cancer treatment17
(2) Heart disease treatment18
(3) Heart bypass surgery19
(4) Diabetes treatment 20
(5) Bronchitis treatment21
(6) Colorectal cancer treatment22
(7) Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease23
(d) RESTRICTED TREATMENT FOR ALCOHOL USERS.—24
Healthcare recipients determined to be drinking alcohol by a Vital 25
Healthcare Agency will not be eligible for the following healthcare 26
services, that would otherwise be federally paid for using government 27
funds distributed to Vital Healthcare Agencies, for a period of 3 years, 28
beginning on the date which said determination was made, after which 29
time alcohol use will be re-evaluated upon request by the Vital 30
Healthcare Agency:31
17
(1) Heart disease treatment1
(2) Heart bypass surgery2
(3) Prostate cancer treatment 3
(4) Liver disease treatment4
(5) Treatment for Stroke5
(6) Colorectal cancer treatment6
(e) ALLOWANCE FOR CITIZENS TO DISPUTE 7
FINDINGS.—Healthcare recipients who wish to dispute such findings 8
may: 9
(1) Ask the Vital Healthcare Agency who made the initial 10
determination to re-evaluate them, which decision shall be up to 11
the Vital Healthcare Agency in question, and/or 12
(2) Choose evaluation via a different Vital Healthcare 13
Agency (who must render testing and a decision within 3 14
months of the request).15
(f) LIMITATIONS UPON REQUESTS FOR RE-16
EVALUATION.—Vital Healthcare Agencies do not need to accept 17
more than 1 re-evaluation request per Healthcare Recipient's 3-year ban 18
period. Healthcare Recipients may not request re-evaluations from 19
more than 1 additional Vital Healthcare Agency during the 3 year 20
period in which they are excluded from certain healthcare services.21
PART B—GRANT PROCESS FOR HOSPITAL PROVIDERS OF 22
BASIC HEALTHCARE23
SEC. 207. VITAL HEALTHCARE AGENCIES24
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Vital Health Agency" or "VHA" 25
as defined in this Act refers to the U.S. Hospitals meeting the 26
requirements for a VHA who, upon being approved by the Committee 27
on Vital Healthcare, gain funding from the U.S. government in the 28
form of a Starting Grant to provide basic healthcare services to 29
Healthcare Recipients.30
18
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR A VHA.—To become a 1
government-funded, Vital Healthcare Agency, a Hospital must certify 2
in writing to the Bureau of Vital Healthcare that it meets the following 3
requirements of a Vital Healthcare Agency:4
(1) Be at all times partitioned/walled from all areas of the 5
Hospital not part of the Vital Healthcare Agency and meet all 6
specifications for Medical Feedback Centers stated in section 7
219. All points of public entry must be through Medical 8
Feedback Centers, save those allowed for emergency use as 9
specified in section 219(c)(1)(A). 10
(2) Meet the requirements of a Starting Grant as specified in 11
section 208(b).12
(3) Provide the Essential Healthcare Services specified in 13
section 203(a).14
(4) Provide any applicable Reimbursed Healthcare Services 15
specified in section 205(c).16
(5) Submit on a yearly basis to the Bureau of Vital 17
Healthcare the following information for the Hospital/VHA for 18
the fiscal year: 19
(A) Total Healthcare Recipients served.20
(B) Total expenses and operating expenses incurred, 21
with treatment expenses classified as Essential, Non-22
Essential, or Reimbursed, as relating to sections 203, 23
204, and 205 respectively.24
(C) Total grant monies received.25
(6) Require medical personnel to track the number of 26
checkups, visits, or dosages for those items listed in section 27
203(a) as having a 'maximum' provision requirement, and 28
ensure this data is recorded in the Server for Vital Healthcare as 29
specified in section 216(b).30
19
(7) Comply with the re-evaluation requests of Healthcare 1
Recipients according to the process specified in section 205(e) 2
and section 205(f).3
(8) Fulfill such additional duties as may be specified by the 4
Committee on Vital Healthcare.5
(c) CERTIFICATION AS A VHA.—Upon being approved as a 6
VHA by the Bureau of Vital Healthcare the Bureau of Vital Healthcare 7
shall list the new VHA on the www.bvh.gov website as an approved 8
Vital Healthcare Agency, as specified in section 225(b)(3).9
(d) ALLOWANCE FOR CHARITY CARE.—A Vital 10
Healthcare Agency is permitted to provide free healthcare services to 11
non-Healthcare Recipients, provide the Non-Essential Healthcare 12
Services listed in section 204(b) to Healthcare Recipients, and provide 13
the Restricted Healthcare Services listed in section 206(c) and section 14
206(d) to the respective Healthcare Recipients who, because of their 15
lifestyle choices are according to said section denied Federally 16
reimbursed treatment, so long as it is recognized that a Vital Healthcare 17
Agency which does so will not be Federally reimbursed for such non-18
funded healthcare services, and does so wholly of its own accord.19
(e) ENDING STATUS AS A VHA.—A Vital Healthcare 20
Agency reserves the right to end its status as a Vital Healthcare Agency 21
at the end of any fiscal year, notwithstanding it shall still be 22
accountable for any fiscal obligations relating to its term as a Vital 23
Healthcare Agency.24
SEC. 208. STARTING GRANTS25
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Starting Grant" as defined in this 26
Act refers to the initial funding for a newly approved Hospital as a 27
Vital Healthcare Agency, without which said Hospital may not become 28
a Vital Healthcare Agency. 29
20
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR A STARTING GRANT.—A given 1
Hospital may only become eligible for a Starting Grant through the 2
following two methods:3
(1) Receive certification by the Centers For Medicare and 4
Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Vital Healthcare Agency and 5
have said certification intact at the time of application for a 6
Starting Grant.7
(2) Present a petition consisting solely of the following 8
language and signed by no less than 5% of the residents in the 9
Hospital's district to the Committee on Vital Healthcare: "We,10
the residents of [name of Hospital's district] affirm our support 11
for [name of Hospital] to become a government-funded Vital 12
Healthcare Agency." 13
(c) REAPPLICATION PROCESS FOR A STARTING 14
GRANT.—Hospitals that had VHA status but lost it are not eligible to 15
reapply for a 5-year period. Upon reapplying, a Hospital must obtain 16
signatures from an additional 5% of district residents than in the 17
previous 5-year period, e.g. 5% for the 1st attempt, 10% for the 2nd18
attempt, 15% for the 3rd attempt, etc. Previous signers of a petition 19
must re-sign for each new petition for their support of a given 20
Hospital's new petition to be recognized and counted by the Committee 21
on Vital Healthcare.22
SEC. 209. PROCESS OF DETERMINING STARTING GRANT 23
ALLOWANCES24
(a) DEFINITION OF VHA DISTRICT.—The term "VHA 25
District" refers to the area occupied by a given Vital Healthcare 26
Agency, and which it is considered to share with other Vital Healthcare 27
Agencies. If a Vital Healthcare Agency is in a Metropolitan Statistical 28
Area or a Micropolitan Statistical Area, the Metropolitan or 29
Micropolitan Statistical Area shall be considered the VHA District for 30
the Vital Healthcare Agencies that inhabit it. If a Vital Healthcare 31
21
Agency does not occupy a Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical 1
Area the Congressional District will instead be considered the VHA 2
District.3
(b) FORMULAIC PROCESS FOR VALUING A STARTING 4
GRANT.—The monetary value of a Starting Grant shall be provided to 5
a given VHA that has met the requirements of section 208(b), based on 6
the Bureau of Vital Healthcare's application of the following formula to 7
a given Vital Healthcare Agency:8
(1) Multiply the number of residents in the VHA District by 9
$1,000. $1,000 is to be the base starting cost of healthcare for a 10
given Healthcare Recipient in a VHA District. 11
(2) Divide the result by the 'Total establishments' in said 12
Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Area. The 'Total 13
establishments' can be found in the Census Bureau's 'County 14
Business Patterns (NAICS)' report for Industry Code 622; 15
'Hospitals'. Dividing by 'Total establishments' establishes the 16
allotment share for a specific Hospital or VHA17
(3) If the VHA is not in a Metropolitan or Micropolitan 18
Statistical Area, an estimation of residents and Hospital 19
establishments within the Congressional district may instead be 20
substituted. This effectually determines the average residents 21
served by a Hospital in a given Metropolitan or Micropolitan 22
Statistical Area.23
(b) PROCESS FOR CHANGING FORMULATION.—The 24
Committee on Vital Healthcare shall have the power to change this 25
formula after January 1st, 2013. 26
(c) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The base starting cost 27
for a given Healthcare Recipient, $1,000, is to be adjusted for inflation 28
by the Bureau of Vital Healthcare for each fiscal year beginning 29
January 1st, 2012. 30
22
SEC. 210. EXTENDED AND DIMINISHED GRANTS1
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Vital Healthcare shall use 2
data collected from Medical Feedback Centers to re-define the levels of 3
what were originally Starting Grants, that either by increasing they 4
become Extended Grants, or by decreasing, Diminished Grants. 5
(b) FORMULAIC PROCESS FOR RE-DEFINING 6
GRANTS.—The following basic process shall be utilized by the 7
Bureau of Vital Healthcare as a framework to ultimately set new grant 8
levels as of January 1st, 2013, and every 2 years subsequent to this; e.g. 9
January 1st, 2015, January 1st, 2017, etc:10
(1) The Bureau of Vital Healthcare shall determine the 11
Cumulative Rating Averages for the three segments of a given 12
Vital Healthcare Agency as specified in section 211. The 13
separate CRAs are to be weighted by multiplying the CRA for 14
Healthcare Recipients inside the VHA District by 65%, the 15
CRA for Healthcare Recipients in adjoining VHA Districts by 16
30%, and the CRA for all other Healthcare Recipients by 5%. 17
The separate resulting totals, now weighted, are to be added 18
together to attain the "VHA Approval Rating", which expresses 19
the voting approval of Healthcare Recipients, primarily as 20
relating to the immediate VHA District and surrounding area for 21
the VHA in question.22
(2) The VHA Approval Ratings are to be compared among 23
Vital Healthcare Agencies in the VHA District. For purposes of 24
determining Extended and Diminished Grants, the formula used 25
shall be identical to that specified in section 209(b) for valuing 26
Starting Grants, but the value of the base starting cost of a given 27
Healthcare Recipient in the VHA District specified in section 28
209(b)(1) as $1,000 is to be changed; higher for Extended 29
Grants, and lower for Diminished Grants. If not changed from 30
23
the value of $1,000, the VHA with such a value shall be 1
esteemed to maintain the status of a Starting Grant.2
(c) SPECIFIC SCENARIOS.—3
(1) VHAs with VHA Approval Ratings at or above 3.75 4
and below 4.25 are to remain at Starting Grant status or 5
improve to receive Extended Grant status. If a given VHA, 6
which meets such a condition, has a VHA Approval Rating 7
above the average VHA Approval Rating of all VHAs in the 8
VHA District, that VHA is to receive an Extended Grant 9
with a gain in the base starting cost of a Healthcare 10
Recipient in the VHA District, for purposes of its grant 11
funding formulation as specified in section 210(b)(2), 12
equivalent to the difference between its own VHA Approval 13
Rating and the average VHA Approval Rating of all VHAs 14
in the VHA District, divided by 5.0, added to 1.0, and 15
multiplied by $1,000 to receive the new Extended Grant 16
value for the VHA. If a given VHA, which meets such a 17
condition, has a VHA Approval Rating at or below the 18
average VHA Approval Rating of all VHAs in the VHA 19
District, it is to maintain its Starting Grant status. This new 20
value shall be the base starting cost per Healthcare Recipient 21
for the VHA.22
(2) VHAs with VHA Approval Ratings at or above 4.25 23
are to receive Extended Grant status. A given VHA, which 24
meets this condition, is to receive a gain in the base starting 25
cost of a Healthcare Recipient in the VHA District, for 26
purposes of its grant funding formulations as specified in 27
section 210(b)(2), equivalent to the difference between the 28
VHA Approval Rating of said VHA and 2.50, divided by 29
5.0, added to 1.0, and multiplied by $1,000 to receive the 30
new Extended Grant value for the VHA. This new value 31
24
shall be the base starting per Healthcare Recipient for the 1
VHA.2
(3) VHAs with VHA Approval Ratings below 3.75 are 3
to receive Diminished Grant status. A given VHA, which 4
meets this condition, is to receive a loss in the base starting 5
cost of a Healthcare Recipient in the VHA District, for 6
purposes of its grant funding formulations as specified in 7
section 210(b)(2), equivalent to the difference between its 8
VHA Approval Rating and the top VHA Approval Rating in 9
its VHA District, divided by the number of VHAs in the 10
VHA District, divided by 5.0, added to 1.0, and multiplied 11
by $1,000 to receive the new Extended Grant value for the 12
VHA. If such a VHA also meets the qualifications of 13
section 210(d)(2), that formula shall instead take 14
precedence.15
(d) EXCEPTIONS.—16
(1) A VHA with the best VHA Approval Rating in its 17
VHA District is to always receive Extended Grant status 18
unless it is the only VHA in its VHA District in which case 19
the formula in section 210(d)(2) shall instead be used. If 20
there are at least 2 VHAs in the VHA District, the VHA 21
with the best VHA Approval Rating is to become an 22
Extended Grant and receive a gain in the base starting cost 23
of a Healthcare Recipient in the VHA District, for purposes 24
of its grant funding formulation as specified in section 25
210(b)(2), equivalent to the difference between the best 26
VHA Approval Rating in the VHA District and the average 27
VHA Approval Rating of the other VHAs in the VHA 28
District, divided by 5.0, added to 1.0, and multiplied by 29
$1,000 to receive the new Extended Grant value for the 30
VHA (e.g. for a VHA with the top VHA Approval Rating of 31
25
4.5, and all other VHAs in the VHA District whose average 1
VHA Approval Rating was 3.7, the difference would be .8 2
which when divided by 5.0 would equal .16, upon addition 3
to 1.0 would become 1.16, and then by multiplying by 4
$1,000 would result in a new base starting cost of $1,160 5
per Healthcare Recipient for the aforementioned VHA with 6
the best VHA Approval Rating in the VHA District). This 7
new value shall be the base starting cost per Healthcare 8
Recipient for the VHA. If such a VHA also meets the 9
qualifications of section 210(c)(2), the formula in section 10
210(c)(2) shall instead take precedence.11
(2) A VHA without other VHAs or Hospitals within a 12
30-mile radius, or without another VHA in its VHA District, 13
is not to receive a Diminished Grant for its first 5 years from 14
the time of receiving its initial Starting Grant. If the VHA 15
over those 5 years has VHA Approval Ratings averaging 16
below 2.50 the Bureau of Vital Healthcare is to seek 17
creation of a new VHA in a 15-mile radius of the VHA in 18
question, whether by expansion by a present VHA to a 19
second location, seeking relocation by another Hospital or 20
VHA, or another method. Until such occurrence, the VHA 21
shall receive a gain in the base starting cost of a Healthcare 22
Recipient in the VHA District, for purposes of its grant 23
funding formulation as specified in section 210(b)(2), only 24
if either its VHA Approval Rating is above the average 25
VHA Approval Rating of all VHAs in the state, in which 26
case it shall receive an increase in the base starting cost of a 27
Healthcare Recipient in the VHA District, for purposes of 28
its grant funding formulations as specified in section 29
210(b)(2), equivalent to the difference between the VHA 30
Approval Rating of said VHA and the average VHA 31
26
Approval Rating of all VHAs in the state, divided by 5.0, 1
added to 1.0, and multiplied by $1,000 to receive the new 2
Extended Grant value for the VHA. This new value shall be 3
the base starting per Healthcare Recipient for the VHA.4
SEC. 211. COMPILING CUMULATIVE RATING AVERAGES5
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Cumulative Rating Average" 6
or "CRA" refers to the averaging of the ratings for the first two 7
questions asked on the Healthcare Voting Machines in the 8
Medical Feedback Centers for a given Vital Healthcare Agency, 9
as specified in paragraphs (c)(5)(A) and (c)(5)(B) of section 10
223. This shall result in three different CRAs for a given Vital 11
Healthcare Agency, each for a different segment of the 12
Healthcare Recipients who responded.13
(b) SEGMENTS OF HEALTHCARE RECIPIENTS TO BE 14
TRACKED.—Cumulative Rating Averages are to be 15
maintained for each Vital Healthcare Agency, and for each 16
Vital Healthcare Agency, to be tracked for the following three 17
segments of Healthcare Recipients:18
(1) Healthcare Recipients inside the VHA District.19
(2) Healthcare Recipients in VHA Districts adjoining the 20
VHA District in question; not including the VHA District in 21
question itself.22
(3) All other Healthcare Recipients; those Healthcare 23
Recipients outside of both the VHA District in question and 24
its adjoining VHA Districts.25
(c) PROCESS OF DETERMINING A CRA.—Cumulative 26
Rating Averages are to be compiled for each segment, for each 27
Vital Healthcare Agency, and account for voter ratings taken 28
specifically over the 2-year periods specified in section 210(b), 29
as follows:30
27
(1) Add the ratings that resulted from answers to the two 1
questions from paragraphs (c)(5)(A) and (c)(5)(B) of section 2
223 for Healthcare Recipients in the given segment, and 3
divide by the number of Healthcare Recipients who 4
provided ratings in that segment. This shall result in two 5
rating averages, one for ratings by Healthcare Recipient in 6
the given segment to the question in section 223(c)(5)(A), 7
and one for ratings by Healthcare Recipients in the given 8
segment to the question in section 223(c)(5)(B). 9
(2) Add the two rating averages that resulted together, and divide by 2. 10
This shall produce a Cumulative Rating Average for one of the 11
segments of Healthcare Recipients specified in section 211(b), for a 12
specific Vital Healthcare Agency. 13
SEC. 212. ADDITIONAL FISCAL REIMBURSEMENTS TO 14
VHAS15
(a) IN GENERAL.—VHAs that report additional costs for 16
approved healthcare service expenses in a fiscal year such as for 17
Essential Healthcare Services, Reimbursed Healthcare Services, or for 18
a cost associated with necessary running of a Vital Healthcare Agency -19
which costs associated with necessary running of a Vital Healthcare 20
Agency may be specified by the Committee on Vital Healthcare as well 21
as the acceptable range as stated in section 215(b)(8), are to be 22
reimbursed the additional amount specified, so long as there is a 23
thorough accounting of the reason for the expense.24
(b) PROCESS FOR PAYMENT.—The additional costs for 25
approved healthcare service expenses in a fiscal year specified in 26
section 212(a) are to be provided each fiscal year in addition to the 27
grant monies, as specified in section 216(b)(6).28
28
PART C—FORMING OF A REGULATING AGENCY FOR 1
BASIC HEALTHCARE2
SEC. 213. DESIGN OF THE COMMITTEE ON VITAL 3
HEALTHCARE4
(a) PURPOSES.—The Committee on Vital Healthcare shall be 5
created upon passage of this Act for purposes of oversight, regulation,6
direction, and leadership of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare, and shall be 7
considered the leadership committee for the Bureau of Vital 8
Healthcare. 9
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the Committee on 10
Vital Healthcare shall consist of representatives from recognized 11
medical institutions and non-profit groups. The following groups, and 12
specifically, the leaders afterwards indicated, shall choose their 13
respective representatives by whatever method they see fit: 14
(1) American Board of Medical Specialties - President and 15
CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties 16
(2) American Medical Association – President of the 17
American Medical Association18
(3) American College of Physicians – President of the 19
American College of Physicians20
(4) American Dental Association – President of the 21
American Dental Association22
(5) American Medical Student Association – National 23
President of the American Medical Student Association24
(6) American Osteopathic Association – President of the 25
American Osteopathic Association26
(7) AARP Foundation – President of the AARP Foundation27
(8) American Board of Medical Specialties – President and 28
CEO of the American Board of Medical Specialties 29
(9) American Board of Internal Medicine – President and 30
CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine 31
29
(10) American College of Emergency Physicians –1
President of the American College of Emergency Physicians2
(11) American Academy of Family Physicians – President 3
of the American Academy of Family Physicians4
(12) American Nurses Association – President of the 5
American Nurses Association6
(c) MEMBERSHIP REGULATIONS.—The following bylaws 7
apply to the selection process for representatives serving on the 8
Committee on Vital Healthcare:9
(1) Each group indicated in section 213(b) shall have 10
exactly one representative every 3 years. This representative is 11
to be selected by the leader indicated and be a member of the 12
group/organization involved. 13
(2) The first representatives are to be chosen on January 1st, 14
2011. The second round of representatives will be chosen by15
their respective organizations on January 1st 2014, the third 16
round of representatives chosen by their respective 17
organizations on January 1st, 2017, etc.18
(3) The organization leaders indicated in section 213(b)(1) 19
as having the right to choose representatives for their respective 20
organizations are free to select themselves.21
(4) The designated leaders of their respective organizations 22
listed in section 213(b)(1), and who have the right to pick the 23
representative for their organization, are to mail a signed letter 24
stating their selections for their respective organization's 25
representative on the Committee on Vital Healthcare to the 26
Clerk of the House for archiving and evidentiary purposes.27
(5) No organization may elect the same individual as its 28
representative for 2 consecutive terms, although that individual 29
may be elected an unlimited number of times. However, no 30
individual person may serve in 2 consecutive sessions for the 31
30
Committee on Vital Healthcare, either by being elected twice in 1
a row by one organization, or via election by separate 2
organizations.3
(6) A member's views on any issue or issues may not 4
disqualify them from sitting on the Committee on Vital 5
Healthcare, as diversity of thought is welcomed, and the 6
primary concern for each organization should be the sufficiency 7
of the representative to represent their best interests, a choice 8
the designated leader of that organization will be free to make 9
wholly within their own discretion. 10
SEC. 214. VOTING PROCESS FOR THE COMMITTEE ON 11
VITAL HEALTHCARE12
(a) VOTING.—The Committee on Vital Healthcare is to have 13
as its leader the Chair of the Committee on Vital Healthcare, who shall 14
take recommendations from Committee of Vital Healthcare members 15
on issues and potential courses of action. 16
(b) SELECTION OF THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE ON 17
VITAL HEALTHCARE.—The Chair of the Committee on Vital 18
Healthcare shall be responsible for bringing up issues, as they are 19
suggested by members of the Committee on Vital Healthcare, before 20
the Committee on Vital Healthcare for a vote, as well as keeping order 21
of the proceedings of the Committee on Vital Healthcare and ensuring 22
all members are given equal rights to speak for their organizations. The 23
selection process for the Chair on the first meeting shall be based upon 24
the reverse alphabetical order of last names. The Chair for January of 25
2011 will be the member with the last name in the alphabet. A 26
different Committee of Vital Healthcare member shall hold the Chair 27
each month of the fiscal year (January, February, March, etc.), with the 28
order passing from the member with the last name ranked last via 29
alphabetical ranking, to the member with the last name ranked 2nd to 30
last via alphabetical ranking, to the member with the last name ranked 31
31
3rd to last via alphabetical ranking, and so on until finally reaching the 1
member with the last name ranked 1st via alphabetical ranking. After 2
this happens, the order will begin once more with the member with the 3
last name ranked last via alphabetical ranking, and the process shall 4
repeat. In this way all Committee of Vital Healthcare members and 5
their respective organizations should hold the Chair at some time 6
during the 3-year period before new Committee of Vital Healthcare 7
members are chosen.8
(c) ALLOWANCE FOR ADDING ORGANIZATIONS.—9
Additional organizations may be added to the list in 213(b) and as such 10
have representatives on the Committee on Vital Healthcare only by 11
vote by formal vote of the Committee on Vital Healthcare, and 12
subsequent approval by 75% of all members.13
SEC. 215. DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON VITAL 14
HEALTHCARE15
(a) DUTIES.—The duties of the Committee on Vital Healthcare 16
shall be as follows:17
(1) Provide Starting Grants to Hospitals who meet the 18
qualifications of section 208(b).19
(2) Update the following lists annually on March 1st:20
(A) Essential Healthcare Services as specified in section 21
203(a).22
(B) Non-Essential Healthcare Services as specified in 23
section (204)(a).24
(C) Reimbursed Healthcare Services as specified in 25
section 205(a).26
(3) Specify standards for:27
(A) Healthcare Entrance Machines as specified in 28
section 222(b).29
(B) Healthcare Voting Machines as specified in section 30
223(b).31
32
(4) Update the base starting cost for a given Healthcare 1
Recipient to account for inflation as specified in section 209(c).2
(5) Begin work on authorizing the creation of a research 3
team as of January 1st, 2016, which team is to provide its 4
findings to Congress no later than January 1st, 2018, on the 5
impact of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare and related agencies, 6
departments, and laws upon the U.S. healthcare system, 7
including but not limited to, the impact on Medicaid and 8
Medicare costs and continuing necessity or lack thereof, the 9
impact on SCHIP costs and continuing necessity or lack thereof, 10
and the possibility and feasibility of merging other U.S. 11
departments which provide healthcare services with the Bureau 12
of Vital Healthcare or its related departments.13
(b) ADDITIONAL POWERS GRANTED.—The Committee on 14
Vital Healthcare will have the capability, but not the obligation, to 15
carry out the following tasks:16
(1) Designate a required room size for Medical Feedback 17
Centers as specified in section 219(b)(1).18
(2) Meet with Healthcare Recipients and concerned parties, 19
as well as hold meetings specifically for members of the 20
Committee on Vital Healthcare.21
(3) Designate a new value formulation for Starting Grants as 22
specified in section 209(b).23
(4) Oversee and regulate, unless otherwise specified, all 24
aspects of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare mentioned in section 25
216. The Committee on Vital Healthcare, unless otherwise 26
specified, shall have the power to exercise all duties and powers 27
of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare if it so chooses.28
(5) Specify changes to the standardized training process for 29
Feedback Center Representatives mentioned in section 30
33
216(b)(7), or creation of a new training process for any 1
employees or department of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare.2
(6) Establish such departmental classifications as are 3
necessary to improve efficiency, simplicity, and transparency of 4
the Bureau of Vital Healthcare and its departments.5
(7) Adapt the process for re-defining Starting Grants as 6
Extended or Diminished Grants specified in section 210(b) to 7
more accurately reflect new data pertaining to which Vital 8
Healthcare Agencies are performing well as opposed to poorly, 9
so long as said process continues to be based upon the 10
weighting of the Cumulative Rating Averages specified in 11
section 211. 12
(8) Specify necessary costs, or expenses, for Vital 13
Healthcare Agencies that are essential to the upkeep of Vital 14
Healthcare Agencies in general, or in that area or given 15
circumstance, such as expenses resulting from building/property 16
taxes or damage not covered by insurance due to disasters, 17
maintenance and janitorial expenses, costs for Medical 18
Feedback Centers, payroll, etc., as well as ranges for these 19
different operating expenses to fall into, or be reimbursed for. 20
These costs should in turn be tied to other variables, such as 21
cost per Healthcare Recipient, or cost as a portion of the VHA's 22
total operating expenses; rather than being inflexible. 23
Furthermore, this is not to allow rationing of healthcare 24
services, and to involve solely expenses that do not qualify as 25
healthcare services; which expenses are to be reimbursed as per 26
section 212.27
SEC. 216. BUREAU OF VITAL HEALTHCARE28
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare 29
is to oversee the practical, day to day regulation of Vital Healthcare 30
34
Agencies as well as the structure by which said VHAs exist, and to 1
enforce the statutes of the Committee on Vital Healthcare.2
(b) DUTIES.—The following duties are to be fulfilled by the 3
Bureau of Vital Healthcare:4
(1) Collect on an annual basis, for the year ending 5
December 31st, the following information for each Medical 6
Feedback Center, using the Server for Vital Healthcare:7
(A) Total Healthcare Recipients served.8
(B) Cumulative rating averages for the two questions 9
evaluating VHA performance, collected for each VHA from 10
the Server for Vital Healthcare, as specified in section 11
217(b)(8).12
(2) Collect on an annual basis, for the year ending 13
December 31st, the following information from each Vital 14
Healthcare Agency:15
(A) Total expenses and operating expenses incurred.16
(B) Total grant monies provided.17
(3) Determine which Hospitals are eligible to receive 18
Starting Grants according to the process enumerated in section 19
208.20
(4) Specify grant allowances of Starting Grants to each new 21
Vital Healthcare Agency as per section 209.22
(5) Specify new grant allowances, by which Starting Grants 23
may become Extended or Diminished Grants, according to the 24
process specified in section 210.25
(6) Send the grant amount allotted for a given Vital 26
Healthcare Agency to it on an annual basis, no later than 27
January 31st of each year, taking into account any additional 28
fiscal reimbursements to be provided as stated in section 212.29
35
(7) Oversee a standardized, effective training process for 1
Feedback Center Representatives whereby each is 2
knowledgeable of: 3
(A) His or her duties, and how to perform them, as laid 4
out in section 220.5
(B) The role of a Medical Feedback Center as specified 6
in section 219. 7
(C) The role of a Vital Healthcare Agency as specified 8
in section 207.9
(D) The operation of the Feedback Center Surveillance 10
System, as specified in section 224.11
(E) Operation and maintenance of both Healthcare 12
Entrance Machines and Healthcare Voting Machines.13
(F) General info about:14
(i) Starting Grants15
(ii) Diminished Grants16
(iii) Extended Grants17
(iv) The Bureau of Vital Healthcare18
(v) The Server for Vital Healthcare19
(vi) The Public Transparency Website20
(G) Confidentiality requirements as specified in section 21
218.22
(H) Any security procedures the Committee of Vital 23
Healthcare or Bureau of Vital Healthcare may adopt.24
(I) Definition of Healthcare Recipients as specified in 25
section 201.26
(J) The signing of all applicable agreements pertaining 27
to abortion specified in section 101(c).28
(K) Contact information necessary for assistance from 29
the Bureau of Vital Healthcare.30
36
(8) Enforce, or aid in enforcing penalties specified in this 1
title in conjunction with all applicable federal agencies.2
(9) Establish fact-checking processes to ensure funds for 3
Starting Grants, Diminished Grants, and Extended Grants are 4
going to the correct Vital Healthcare Agencies, and that all 5
federal monies funded to the Bureau of Vital Healthcare, 6
Committee of Vital Healthcare, and Vital Healthcare Agencies 7
are being properly used.8
(10) Ensure proper accounting procedures are in place for 9
Vital Healthcare Agencies, the Bureau of Vital Healthcare, and 10
the Committee of Vital Healthcare.11
(11) Oversee regulations and duties of Vital Healthcare 12
Agencies, Medical Feedback Centers, Feedback Center 13
Surveillance Systems, and the Server for Vital Healthcare to 14
ensure said regulations and duties are being fulfilled.15
(12) Ensure Medical Feedback Centers are provided with all 16
materials necessary for operation, including working Healthcare 17
Entrance Machines and Healthcare Voting Machines.18
(13) Regulate creation and distribution processes of 19
Healthcare Entrance Machines and Healthcare Voting Machines 20
to ensure quality.21
(14) Such other duties as the Committee on Vital Healthcare 22
shall specify.23
SEC. 217. SERVER FOR VITAL HEALTHCARE24
(a) DEFINITIONS.—The term "Server for Vital Healthcare" or 25
"SVH" refers to the online server(s) and the secure facility or facilities 26
housing said server(s), as well as a backup server(s), used for housing 27
and maintaining in all confidentiality the feedback records, Visit Status, 28
and Personally Identifiable Information of Healthcare Recipients for 29
purposes of evaluating grant monies of Vital Healthcare Agencies, 30
coordinating information for use by HEMs and HVMs, and generally 31
37
providing quality healthcare services to qualified Healthcare 1
Recipients. For purposes of oversight, this shall be considered a 2
department of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare.3
(b) DATA COLLECTED, DEFINED.—The following minimal 4
data is to be collected and stored on the Server for Vital Healthcare for 5
purposes of verifying valid Healthcare Recipients and setting levels of 6
Extended Grants and Diminished Grants:7
(1) Patient names as specified in section 218(b)(1), 8
219(b)(2), and section 220(b)(2). 9
(2) Patient identification numbers as specified in section 10
218(b)(2).11
(3) Barcodes for Healthcare Recipient Cards as specified in 12
section 221(b)(3).13
(4) Patient Date of Births as specified in section 218(b)(4) 14
and section 220(b)(2).15
(5) Patient Housing Addresses as specified in section 16
218(b)(2) and section 220(b)(2).17
(6) Patient Fingerprint Records as specified in section 18
201(b)(2).19
(7) Patient Visit Status as specified in section 220(b)(5).20
(8) Cumulative Average Ratings for the three segments of 21
Healthcare Recipients that voted via Healthcare Voting 22
Machines, as tracked for each and every Vital Healthcare 23
Agency; which process is specified in section 211, and to be 24
separated by the 2-year periods specified in section 210(b).25
(9) The number of basic checkups received per fiscal year, 26
as specified in section 203(a)(2).27
(10) The number of Well baby and well child exams 28
received per child, as specified in section 203(a)(5).29
(11) The number of dosage treatments provided for each 30
individual Sexually Transmitted Disease over a 15-year period, 31
38
as well as the data of the first dosage treatment, which shall 1
mark the beginning of the 15-year period, as specified in section 2
203(a)(33) through section 203(a)(38).3
(c) DATA TRANSFER.—An important aspect of the Server for 4
Vital Healthcare will be its transmission of data to Healthcare Entrance 5
Machines, Healthcare Voting Machines, and reception areas of Medical 6
Feedback Centers. The Server for Vital Healthcare is to ensure to the 7
best of its ability the constant functioning and accessibility of its data 8
housing and transfer aspects.9
SEC. 218. CONFIDENTIALITY10
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any employee of the Bureau of Vital 11
Healthcare or its departments, Committee of Vital Healthcare, Medical 12
Feedback Centers, or any other person with access to the storage by 13
such groups of Personally Identifiable Information of Healthcare 14
Recipients, or who assists in the communication with the public on 15
behalf of said organizations for purposes of receiving such Personally 16
Identifiable Information of Healthcare Recipients, who is discovered to 17
be unlawfully disclosing the information of said Personally Identifiable 18
Information of Healthcare Recipients shall be subject to the penalties 19
described in section 552(i) of the Privacy Act of 1974 [5 U.S.C. 552i].20
(b) DEFINITION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE 21
INFORMATION.—The term "Personally Identifiable Information" or 22
"PII" refers to information that can be used to distinguish or trace an 23
individual's identity and includes, but is not limited to, the following 24
forms of data: 25
(1) Names, as specified in section 219(b)(2) and section 26
217(b)(1). 27
(2) Housing addresses as specified in section 217(b)(5) and 28
section 220(b)(2)..29
(3) Fingerprints as specified in section 201(b)(2) and section 30
217(a)(6).31
39
(4) Date of births as specified in section 217(b)(4) and 1
section 220(b)(2)..2
(5) Identification numbers as specified in section 221(b)(2).3
(6) Barcodes as specified in 217(b)(3), section 221(b)(3)4
(c) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—All employees of the 5
Bureau of Vital Healthcare, Committee on Vital Healthcare, Server for 6
Vital Healthcare, and Medical Feedback Centers are to be trained on 7
the standards of the Privacy Act of 1974 [5 U.S.C. 552] as relating to 8
data confidentiality and protection of PII, including penalties for 9
disclosure of PII as specified in section 215(b)(6)(G) of the Privacy Act 10
of 1974. The training process shall be determined by the Committee on 11
Vital Healthcare as specified in section 215(b)(5).12
PART D—PROCESS OF PROVIDING BASIC HEALTHCARE13
SEC. 219. MEDICAL FEEDBACK CENTERS14
(a) DEFINITION.—A "Medical Feedback Center" or "MFC" as 15
defined in this Act refers to the public reception area separating a given 16
Vital Healthcare Agency from entrances to the outside of the building. 17
This reception area exists primarily to: 18
(1) Provide Healthcare Recipient Cards to Healthcare 19
Recipients20
(2) Ensure only eligible Healthcare Recipients receive 21
services from the Vital Healthcare Agency in question, and 22
(3) Provide voting services whereby Healthcare Recipients 23
can evaluate the care received.24
(b) DESIGN OF A MEDICAL FEEDBACK CENTER.—The 25
design for the Medical Feedback Centers is to have the following 26
minimum features:27
(1) 4-sided as a room, and square or rectangular in shape, 28
with only the opposing ends having accessible entrances. One 29
end is to serve as entrance to the outside, and the other 30
accessing that area of the building containing the Vital 31
40
Healthcare Agency. There is to be no restriction on required 1
room size for a Medical Feedback Center unless so designated 2
by the Committee on Vital Healthcare. 3
(2) A reception desk area in the center of the room with at 4
least one working computer terminal, blank Healthcare 5
Recipient Cards, a device for generating names, identification 6
numbers, and barcodes on said Healthcare Recipient Cards, and 7
a fingerprint kit.8
(3) An aisle or aisles on the left side of the reception desk 9
area as looking towards the entrance adjoining the Vital 10
Healthcare Agency. This aisle or aisles will be used for 11
entering the Vital Healthcare Agency, and contain at least 2 12
working and publicly accessible Healthcare Entrance Machines 13
during all operating hours for a given Medical Feedback Center. 14
These machines are to be clearly visible in the entrance aisle(s)15
to Healthcare Recipients in the Medical Feedback Center.16
(4) An aisle or aisles on the right side of the reception desk 17
area as looking towards the entrance adjoining the Vital 18
Healthcare Agency. This aisle or aisles will be used for exiting 19
the Vital Healthcare Agency, and contain at least 2 working and 20
publicly accessible Healthcare Voting Machines during all 21
operating hours for a given Medical Feedback Center. These 22
machines are to be clearly visible in the exit aisle(s) to 23
Healthcare Recipients in the Medical Feedback Center, 24
although obscuring objects are allowed for placement between 25
the HVMs and the Feedback Center Surveillance System, as 26
specified in section 224(b)(2).27
(5) Posters stating in both English and Spanish, "Vote here 28
on your Hospital experience with your Healthcare Recipient 29
Card", are to be placed in plain view on the wall of a Medical 30
Feedback Center beside each Healthcare Voting Machine. 31
41
(c) ADDITIONAL SPECIFICATIONS.—The following 1
specifications must be met by Vital Healthcare Agencies:2
(1) Medical Feedback Centers must be placed at all public 3
entrances, excluding those used for emergency room entrance 4
purposes. 5
(A) Additional entrances are allowed for emergency use, 6
so long as they are reserved for Healthcare Recipients 7
requiring ambulatory care, and those well enough to leave 8
through a Medical Feedback Center are directed to leave 9
through a Medical Feedback Center, provided a Healthcare 10
Recipient Card if they do not already have one, and 11
informed of the voting booths on their way out.12
(2) A Medical Feedback Center may serve as both a lobby 13
and a Medical Feedback Center so long as all requirements of 14
section 207(b) are met. 15
(A) Multiple entrances from the outside into a Medical 16
Feedback Center are permitted so long as they are along the 17
wall opposing the entrance into the Vital Healthcare 18
Agency.19
(B) A Medical Feedback Center dually serving as a 20
lobby for its Vital Healthcare Agency (it may not serve as a 21
lobby or have inter-connecting access ways to for any area 22
of the building serving as a Hospital, as opposed to a Vital 23
Healthcare Agency) is free to ask additional questions of 24
Healthcare Recipients for the intent of providing healthcare 25
services.26
(3) A Medical Feedback Center's outside entrance or 27
entrances are not required to directly access the outside part of 28
the building. Up to one room is allowed between each entrance 29
and the outside part of the building, provided that the only 30
42
doorways in these rooms are to the outside part of the building 1
and to the Medical Feedback Center.2
(4) Additional security personnel and/or security measures 3
may be utilized as necessary.4
SEC. 220. DUTIES OF THE FEEDBACK CENTER 5
REPRESENTATIVE6
(a) DEFINITION.—A "Feedback Center Representative" or 7
"FCR" as defined in this Act refers to an on-site representative of the 8
Bureau of Vital Healthcare overseeing a Medical Feedback Center for 9
purposes of ensuring quality healthcare services are being provided. 10
(b) DUTIES.—A Feedback Center Representative's desk is to 11
be located in the center of a Medical Feedback Center, staffed by no 12
less than one Feedback Center Representative and have all materials 13
ascribed to it in section 219(b)(2). The job duties of the Feedback 14
Center Representative or Representatives are as follows:15
(1) Check citizenship status for those without Healthcare 16
Recipient Cards via the process stated in section 201(b)(1). 17
Those who are verified as U.S. citizens are to be given a 18
personalized Healthcare Recipient Card as specified in section 19
221. 20
(2) Record into the Server for Vital Healthcare the full 21
Name, Date of Birth, and Housing Address of the Healthcare 22
Recipient receiving a new Healthcare Recipient Card.23
(3) Fingerprint those who receive a Healthcare Recipient 24
Card and have said fingerprints scanned into the Server for 25
Vital Healthcare according to the process specified in section 26
201(b)(2).27
(4) Provide Healthcare Recipient Cards to patients who 28
entered through an emergency exit, and inform them of their 29
right to vote with those cards as specified in section 30
219(c)(1)(A).31
43
(5) If the patient will be receiving healthcare services during 1
the visit, record the Healthcare Recipient's Visit Status as 2
'Active' as opposed to 'Inactive' on the Server for Vital 3
Healthcare.4
(6) If dually serving as a lobby, ask for and record/input any 5
additional information required by the Vital Health Agency, as 6
specified in section 219(c)(2)(B).7
SEC. 221. HEALTHCARE RECIPIENT CARDS8
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Healthcare Recipient Card" 9
refers to the card issued to a Healthcare Recipient entering a VHA 10
through a Medical Feedback Center that will allow him or her to 11
evaluate the services received upon leaving and quickly receive 12
medical access in the future. 13
(b) DESIGN.—Healthcare Recipient Cards are to be 3.5 inches 14
long and 2 inches wide. Healthcare Recipient Cards are to have 15
machine-inscribed upon them the following information for each 16
individual patient:17
(1) The patient's name,18
(2) A unique system-assigned identification number, and19
(3) A scannable barcode specific to each Healthcare 20
Recipient.21
SEC. 222. HEALTHCARE ENTRANCE MACHINES22
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Healthcare Entrance Machine" 23
or "HEM" refers to those machines in the entrance aisle of a Medical 24
Feedback Center allowing for rapid access to services via scanning of a 25
Healthcare Recipient Cards and fingerprint scans.26
(b) DESIGN.—The Committee on Vital Healthcare shall no 27
later than December 31st, 2012 specify a standard design for Healthcare 28
Entrance Machines. The Committee on Vital Healthcare shall have the 29
right to update this standard at any time.30
44
(c) STANDARD FEATURES.—All Healthcare Entrance 1
Machines are to have the following features:2
(1) A user-friendly interface.3
(2) Language selection upon startup.4
(3) Card reading device for insertion and subsequent reading 5
of Healthcare Recipient Cards for purposes of verifying identity 6
as a Healthcare Recipient.7
(4) Fingerprint-scanning device for purposes of verifying 8
identity as the valid bearer of said Healthcare Recipient Card.9
(5) Screen verification in the language selected upon startup 10
of either accepted card verification and subsequent access to 11
healthcare services, or rejected card verification and subsequent 12
denial to healthcare services.13
(6) Data transfer capability for ready transfer of data to 14
Healthcare Voting Machines of Visit Status and to the Server 15
for Vital Healthcare for the time of visit.16
SEC. 223. HEALTHCARE VOTING MACHINES17
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Healthcare Voting Machine" or 18
"HVM" refers to those machines in the exit aisle of a Medical 19
Feedback Center allowing for easy access to voting and feedback 20
services via scanning of a Healthcare Recipient Card.21
(b) DESIGN.—The Committee on Vital Healthcare shall no 22
later than December 31st, 2012 specify a standard design for Healthcare 23
Voting Machines. The Committee on Vital Healthcare shall have the 24
right to update this standard at any time.25
(c) STANDARD FEATURES.—All Healthcare Voting 26
Machines are to have the following features:27
(1) A user-friendly interface.28
(2) Language selection upon startup.29
(3) Card reading device for insertion and subsequent reading 30
of Healthcare Recipient Cards for purposes of verifying the 31
45
bearer recently received healthcare services that warrant 1
feedback.2
(4) Data transfer capability for ready transfer of collected 3
information to the Server for Vital Healthcare for the time of 4
visit and from Healthcare Entrance Machines for 5
acknowledgement of a Healthcare Recipient's current Visit 6
Status.7
(5) Upon verification of a valid Healthcare Recipient Card 8
for a Healthcare Recipient and selection of a language, 9
submission of the following questions in the designated 10
language:11
(A) "Did this Vital Healthcare Agency/Hospital provide 12
you with good healthcare service?" This question is to be 13
accompanied with the following voting options; each 14
assigned a rating of 1-5, with (i) being 1 point and (v) being 15
5 points, and is to be the first question asked: 16
(i) "Definitely not, the VHA provided horrible 17
healthcare service to me." 18
(ii) "No, the VHA provided bad healthcare service to 19
me."20
(iii) "I am not sure."21
(iv) "Yes, the VHA provided good healthcare service 22
to me."23
(v) "Very much so, the VHA provided excellent 24
healthcare service to me."25
(B) "Should this VHA/Hospital receive more or less 26
government funding?" This question is to be accompanied 27
by the following voting options; each assigned a rating of 1-28
5, with (i) being 1 point and (v) being 5 points, and is to be 29
the second question asked:30
46
(i) "Yes, the VHA should receive more government 1
funding."2
(ii) "No, the current funding level for this VHA is 3
appropriate."4
(iii) "No, this VHA should have less government 5
funding."6
(iv) "I am not sure."7
(C) Any additional questions that the Bureau on Vital 8
Healthcare may choose to ask of all Healthcare Recipients 9
across the United States or a given region, such as "Should 10
illegal immigrants have access to healthcare services?" or 11
"Should abortion be government-funded by this healthcare 12
system?" 13
(6) An additional form for purposes of allowing Healthcare 14
Recipients to submit complaints and/or feedback to the Bureau 15
of Vital Healthcare.16
PART E—PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURE17
SEC. 224. FEEDBACK CENTER SURVEILLANCE AS 18
ASSURANCE OF PROPER VOTING PROCESS19
(a) DEFINITION.—The term "Feedback Center Surveillance 20
System" or "FCSS" refers to the video camera or system of video 21
cameras stationed within a Medical Feedback Center for purposes of 22
ensuring Vital Healthcare Agencies, staff of said Vital Healthcare 23
Agencies, or other obstacles are not interfering with the rights of 24
Healthcare Recipients to medical access and feedback pertaining to that 25
access. 26
(b) CAMERA SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—The following 27
requirements apply to Feedback Center Surveillance Systems: 28
(1) Every Medical Feedback Center is required to have at 29
least two video camera angled to view the reception desk, the 30
47
Healthcare Entrance Machines, and the Healthcare Voting 1
Machines. 2
(2) There must not be visibility of Healthcare Voting 3
Machines such that the screens and thus information/feedback 4
of Healthcare Recipients is visible. The primary objective is 5
ensuring that Healthcare Recipients are able to access the HEMs 6
and HVMs, not to observe the HVM itself. If screens of HVMs 7
will otherwise be visible, either the camera locations should be 8
changed or an obscuring object placed between the camera and 9
the screens of the Healthcare Voting Machines in question.10
(3) The FCSS is required to record footage of the designated 11
area of the Medical Feedback System during all operating hours 12
of the Vital Health Agency.13
(4) Camera footage must show the real-time info for the 14
date and time of footage as it was being recorded. 15
(c) PENALTIES.—Tampering of this system by a Vital 16
Healthcare Agency, an employee of a Vital Healthcare Agency, or any 17
other person may be subject to the fines and term of imprisonment 18
specified in section 201(c). 19
(d) WEBSITE UPLOAD.—All footage must be uploaded to the 20
Server for Vital Healthcare no later than one month from the time of 21
the oldest recorded footage yet to be uploaded. 22
SEC. 225. PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE23
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Server for Vital Healthcare and 24
Bureau of Vital Healthcare shall oversee creation of a new government 25
website, www.bvh.gov, for purposes of allowing Healthcare Recipients 26
to review FCSS video footage that the processes in this Act might be 27
kept publicly transparent and accountable, of providing Healthcare 28
Recipients with an additional, accessible voting option, and providing 29
such other information sources as may prove beneficial for the public 30
understanding of the Bureau of Vital Healthcare. 31
48
(b) DESIGN.—The website is to have the following features:1
(1) An online version of the Healthcare Voting Machine's 2
format, with the language selection feature specified in section 3
223(c)(2), the questions specified in section 223(c)(5), and the 4
feedback form specified in section 223(c)(6). For verification 5
purposes, the website should require input by a Healthcare 6
Recipient of their name, identification number (which number is 7
specified in section 221(b)(2)), and date of visit to the Vital 8
Healthcare Agency. 9
(2) Online storage of video surveillance footage for each 10
Medical Feedback Center as specified in section 224(d). This 11
footage is to be freely accessible to the public. Additionally, 12
there is to be a search engine that will allow online users to 13
easily locate their Vital Healthcare Agency, and thus its video 14
footage archives, by zip code search.15
(3) An updated list of current Vital Healthcare Agencies, 16
searchable by zip code and entering a given street address and 17
search radius to receive a list of VHAs within that radius. 18
(4) An updated list of the Hospitals currently applying to 19
become Vital Healthcare Agencies that are not yet approved.20
SEC. 226. ENCOURAGEMENT OF CITIZEN WATCHDOG 21
GROUPS22
Citizen watchdog groups and the general public are encouraged 23
to provide oversight, comments on, and accountability for the public 24
transparency website. As such, comments, opinions, and public 25
participation are to be strictly protected from regulation apart from 26
removing comments for purposes of profanity, pornography, racism, 27
sexism, spamming, hacking, advertising/solicitation, and comments 28
suggesting or supporting illegal activities.29
49
TITLE III. PRIVATE SECTOR1
SEC. 301. MAINTAINING THE CURRENT PRIVATE SECTOR2
All Hospitals and providers of healthcare or social services 3
currently authorized to operate under U.S. law are free to continue 4
offering medical services. Public sector/Private Sector Hospitals, as 5
defined in this Act, can operate in the same building, so long as both 6
areas are definitively separated from each other per section 207(b)(1).7
TITLE VI—TORT REFORM8
SEC. 401. HOSPITAL LAWSUITS9
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Upon passage of this Act as law, the 10
losing party in a lawsuit against a Hospital or Hospital employee will 11
be required to pay the other's legal fees in addition to any court 12
sentencing, with such sum not to exceed $5,000.13
(b) SHARING OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR A VHA BASED 14
UPON HOURS WORKED.—Employees of a Vital Healthcare Agency 15
found at fault by a court of law for malpractice are to have the cost of 16
such court-decided fees shared by the Vital Healthcare Agency they 17
worked for at the time of the incident in the following manner:18
(1) 5% of the malpractice fees will be paid for by the VHA 19
for whom the employee worked at the time of the incident if the 20
employee at fault worked at least 60 hours in the 7 day period 21
involving the incident (with the last day the day of the incident, 22
and then counting the 6 days previous). 23
(2) An additional 5% of the malpractice fees are to be paid 24
by the VHA for whom the employee worked at the time of the 25
incident for each additional 5 hours that the employee worked 26
above 60 hours. 10% of the malpractice fees are to be paid if 27
the employee worked 65 hours in the 7 day period, 15% if the 28
employee worked 70 hours in the 7 day period, etc.29
SEC. 402. EMPLOYEE HOURS30
50
(a) RESTRICTION AGAINST OVERWORK 1
REQUIREMENTS.—To avoid overwork, and subsequent dangers to a 2
patient, no employee at a Vital Healthcare Agency may be required to 3
work more than 16 hours in a day. 4
(b) VIOLATION PENALTIES.—VHA supervisors/employers 5
found to be coercing and/or requiring VHA employees to work beyond 6
this time period will be subject to a $10,000-$100,000 fine and/or 1 7
year in prison if convicted by a court of law. 8
SEC. 403. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS9
(a) BAN ON PUBLIC OFFICE FOR CONVICTED 10
OFFICIALS.—Any judge, district attorney, or prosecutor henceforth 11
found guilty of any crime above a misdemeanor shall be barred from 12
running for public office for a period of 15 years, unless the decision is 13
overturned. 14
(b) HARSHER SENTENCING FOR CASE 15
MISHANDLING.—Any judge, district attorney, or prosecutor found 16
guilty of mishandling a case so that an innocent person is convicted 17
will be subject to cumulative prison terms of those persons wrongfully 18
convicted, and those found innocent pardoned and paid $50,000 per 19
year of imprisonment. This monetary fee will be first exacted from the 20
estate of the judge(s)/prosecutor(s)/district attorney(s) found guilty, and 21
the remainder to be paid by the federal government.22
(c) ALLOWANCE FOR JUDGES TO SPEAK PUBLICLY ON 23
BELIEFS.—Judges running for reelection will be henceforth allowed 24
to speak publicly about their opinions on political issues and general 25
mindset towards judicial decision-making for purposes of providing 26
voters with the information necessary to make educated decisions about 27
whether or not to re-elect them. No rule by the American Bar 28
Association or any other organization outside of the U.S. government 29
may be esteemed as punishing a judge for expressing their opinions on 30
judicial philosophy or political or religious beliefs given the need for 31
51
the American people to understand the nature of their judges, and the 1
simple facts that impartiality neither includes nor implies lack of 2
human opinions, and no purely human, judicial law is so thorough as to 3
remove the elements of interpretation and thus opinion and personal 4
conviction. 5
SEC. 404. JUDICIAL TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE6
(a) NEW WEBSITE SECTIONS.—This section authorizes the 7
creation of new website pages on www.uscourts.gov, 8
www.uscourts.gov/judgelinks and www.uscourts.gov/prosecutorlinks, 9
whereby citizens can search for a judge via name, court type, or 10
geographic location, and for a prosecutor by name, court type, or 11
geographic location. These website pages shall appear in substance 12
similar to the page at www.uscourts.gov/courtlinks, but instead provide 13
as search results links to the profiles of judges and prosecutors. This 14
system is to have the following features:15
(1) Profiles for judges are to show hyperlinks to recent court 16
decisions made by the judge and hyperlinks of all overturned 17
court decisions in which that judge had made the initial decision 18
only to have it later overturned in a retrial. Each case shown 19
should be hyperlinked to the respective case summary for it on 20
www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov. 21
(2) Profiles for prosecutors are to show as a percentage the 22
number of cases won out of total cases, hyperlinks to recent 23
cases, and hyperlinks to recently lost cases. Each case shown 24
should be hyperlinked to the respective case summary for it on 25
www.pacer.psc.uscourts.gov.26
52
TITLE V—PROVIDING SUBSIDIES FOR MEDICAL 1
EDUCATORS2
SEC. 501. PREREQUISITES FOR MEDICAL INSTRUCTORS 3
TO RECEIVE SUBSIDIES4
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to provide 5
suitable payment for instructors in medical education. 6
(b) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible for a government 7
subsidy, an educator must first meet the following requirements:8
(1) Either be:9
(A) Currently certified as a CNA (Certified Nursing 10
Assistant), or11
(B) Currently certified as a medical professional by the 12
ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties)13
(2) Be certified to teach at the college level.14
SEC. 502. SUBSIDY FORMULATION FOR MEDICAL 15
INSTRUCTORS16
(a) IN GENERAL.—Medical instructors who meet the 17
requirements of section 501(b) to be eligible for a government subsidy 18
shall be eligible to receive from the Department of Labor one of the 19
following amounts, annually, based upon experience in their field, so 20
long as they remain employed by a college as an instructor in medical 21
education for a given year:22
(1) If having 2-3 combined years of experience as a CNA or 23
as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 24
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $30,000 is to be provided by 25
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 26
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $35,000 is to 27
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 28
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 29
$40,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 30
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.31
53
(2) If having 4-5 combined years of experience as a CNA or 1
as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 2
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $40,000 is to be provided by 3
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 4
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $45,000 is to 5
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 6
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 7
$50,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 8
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.9
(3) If having 5-6 combined years of experience as a CNA or 10
as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 11
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $50,000 is to be provided by 12
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 13
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $55,000 is to 14
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 15
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 16
$60,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 17
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.18
(4) If having 6-7 combined years of experience as a CNA or 19
as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 20
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $60,000 is to be provided by 21
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 22
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $65,000 is to 23
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 24
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 25
$70,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 26
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.27
(5) If having 7-8 combined years of experience as a CNA or 28
as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 29
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $70,000 is to be provided by 30
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 31
54
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $75,000 is to 1
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 2
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 3
$80,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 4
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.5
(6) If having 9-10 combined years of experience as a CNA 6
or as a medical professional certified by the American Board of 7
Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $80,000 is to be provided by 8
the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 years of 9
education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of $85,000 is to 10
be provided by the Department of Labor for those with 4-7 11
years of education towards a teaching degree, and a subsidy of 12
$90,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 13
with 8 or more years of education towards a teaching degree.14
(7) If having 11 or more combined years of experience as a 15
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 16
Board of Medical Specialties, a subsidy of $90,000 is to be 17
provided by the Department of Labor for those with less than 4 18
years of education towards a teaching degree, a subsidy of 19
$95,000 is to be provided by the Department of Labor for those 20
with 4-7 years of education towards a teaching degree, and a 21
subsidy of $100,000 is to be provided by the Department of 22
Labor for those with 8 or more years of education towards a 23
teaching degree.24
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Department of Labor is hereby 25
mandated, upon passage of this Act, to begin creation of an office by 26
which those medical professionals specified in this section may receive 27
the aid specified herein, as well as those measures necessary to 28
adequately provide the amounts to those individuals who qualify to 29
receive them. 30
55
SEC. 503. CAP ON SUBSIDY-INCREASED SALARIES1
The subsidies mentioned in section 502 may only bring an 2
educator's before taxes net earnings to $200,000, no more. Any 3
educator who receives subsidy amounts above said level will be 4
required to return it for collection by the Internal Revenue Service, 5
which is hereby authorized to collect it and take such measures as are 6
normatively appropriate for such collection.7
SEC. 504. FINANCIAL AID FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS 8
SEEKING TO BECOME EDUCATORS9
(a) IN GENERAL.—A Certified Nursing Assistant, or medical 10
professional currently certified by the American Board of Medical 11
Specialties, that has 2 or more years of experience in his or her 12
respective medical professions, will henceforth be eligible to receive 13
federal aid of up to 70% towards a bachelor's degree in teaching or a 14
BSN, so long as he or she maintains a GPA of 2.50 or higher.15
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Federal Student Aid office of 16
the U.S. Department of Education is hereby mandated, upon passage of 17
this Act, to begin creation of a form by which those medical 18
professionals specified in this section may receive the aid specified 19
herein, as well as those measures necessary to adequately provide the 20
amounts to those individuals who qualify to receive them. 21
(c) FORMULATION OF AMOUNTS.—Those medical 22
professionals meeting the qualifications of section 504(a) are eligible to 23
receive aid through the method determined by the U.S. Department of 24
Education specified in section 504(b), and to receive one of the 25
following amounts if eligible:26
(1) If having 2 or more combined years of experience as a 27
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 28
Board of Medical Specialties, 20% financial aid towards tuition.29
56
(2) If having 4 or more combined years of experience as a 1
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 2
Board of Medical Specialties, 30% financial aid towards tuition.3
(3) If having 6 or more combined years of experience as a 4
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 5
Board of Medical Specialties, 40% financial aid towards tuition.6
(4) If having 8 or more combined years of experience as a 7
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 8
Board of Medical Specialties, 50% financial aid towards tuition.9
(5) If having 10 or more combined years of experience as a 10
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 11
Board of Medical Specialties, 60% financial aid towards tuition.12
(6) If having 12 or more combined years of experience as a 13
CNA or as a medical professional certified by the American 14
Board of Medical Specialties, 70% financial aid towards tuition. 15
(d) CONDITIONS.—The amounts specified in section 504(c) 16
shall apply at full value to those postsecondary institutions and 17
programs considered accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, 18
and at half value to all other institutions and programs.19
TITLE VI—HEALTH INSURANCE REGULATION20
SEC. 601. BAN ON OWNERSHIP IN TOBACCO AND21
NICOTINE COMPANIES22
(a) IN GENERAL.—All health insurance companies are hereby 23
banned from stock ownership of all tobacco and nicotine companies 24
that exist for non-cessation purposes. 25
(b) PENALTIES.—Beginning on January 1st, 2012, companies 26
who violate this rule will be subject to a fine equivalent to half the 27
stock value in U.S. dollars of that held in all combined tobacco and 28
nicotine companies which exist for non-cessation purposes, as enforced 29
by the U.S. Department of Commerce.30
57
SEC. 602. RESTRICTIONS ON PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS1
Upon passage of this Act, health insurance companies may not 2
discriminate against those seeking coverage on the basis of pre-existing 3
conditions, apart from those conditions that have occurred via willful, 4
high-risk lifestyle choices to indulge in partaking of harmful extraneous 5
substances such as tobacco, nicotine, marijuana, and alcohol.6
TITLE VII—APPROPRIATIONS7
SEC. 701. THE VITAL HEALTHCARE FUND8
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—Subchapter A of chapter 9
98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 10
end the following new section:11
"(1) IN GENERAL—There is established within the 12
Treasury of the United States a trust fund for healthcare services 13
and related costs specified and authorized by this Act to be 14
known as the "Vital Healthcare Fund", consisting of such 15
amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Vital 16
Healthcare Fund. 17
"(2) TRUSTEES.—The trustees of the Vital Healthcare 18
Fund shall be the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of 19
Labor, and the Under Secretary of Education.20
"(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—There are hereby 21
appropriated to the Vital Healthcare Fund from the Treasury of the 22
United States, out of any moneys not appropriated elsewhere, amounts 23
equivalent to:24
"(1) $450,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2010.25
"(2) $500,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2011.26
"(3) $525,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.27
"(4) $550,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.28
"(5) $575,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2014.29
"(6) $600,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2015.30
"(7) $625,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2016.31
58
"(8) $650,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2017.1
"(9) $675,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.2
"(10) $700,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2019.".3