Comprehensive Medical Practice Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add "Title XVII - Comprehensive Medical Practices." Defines a 'comprehensive medical practice' as a legal entity which: (1) provides medical services through health professionals licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy, a specified number of whom engage in family medicine, primary pediatrics, or primary internal medicine; (2) offers a comprehensive variety of medical services reasonably expected to meet the majority of medical needs of the area it serves; (3) offers each patient an individual health professional primarily responsible for the continuity of care of such individual by the entity; (4) shares equipment, facilities, and persnonnel among its member; (5) meets applicable accreditation standards; and (6) maintains an information program for the residents of its service area, such program fully disclosing the services offered, the fees charged, and the method of resolving billing or medical services grievances.
Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make grants to entities for activities to determine the feasibility of developing, operating, or expanding comprehensive medical practices. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, contracts, and loan guarantees for planning, initial development, and initial operation costs for such practices.
Establishes in the Treasury a loan guarantee fund to be available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation for the discharge of the Secretary's loan guarantee responsibilities under this Act. Authorizes the appropriation, from time to time, of such amounts as may be necessary for purposes of such fund.
Establishes in the Treasury a loan fund to be available to the Secretary without fiscal year limitation to enable the Secretary to make loans under this Act.
Authorizes the appropriation of specified sums in fiscal years 1978 through 1980 to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Authorizes the Secretary to make available to insurers reinsurance against claims brought by any of their insureds which are comprehensive medical practices and arising out of medical malpractices, which exceed $100,000. Entitles the Secretary, in any suit brought in the appropriate U.S. district court, to recover from any insurer the amount of any unpaid premiums lawfully payable by such insurer to the Secretary.
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public and nonprofit private entities for projects to promote: (1) the teaching of alternative methods of delivering medical care to health professions students; (2) the training within comprehensive medical practices of students of health professional schools and individuals in residency training programs in family medicine, primary pediatrics, and primary internal medicine; (3) programs under which comprehensive medical practices serving medically underserved populations are given support services by health professional schools; and (4) programs for training in the management of comprehensive medical practices.
Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public and nonprofit private entities for studies to determine the quality of medical care furnished in the various forms of medical practices and the efficiency of the delivery of medical care in each form.
Requires that, within three years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary report to Congress the results of such studies and recommend the means by which medical care may be most economically delivered, while maintaining high quality.
Requires the Secratary to give priority to applications for assignment of National Health Service Corps personnel to practice in comprehensive medical practices.
Amends the Social Security Act to require State plans for medical assistance to provide that comprehensive medical practices be paid specific percentages of the costs of providing care and services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
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