Sec. 501. American Health Security Quality Council
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/bill/113/hr/1200/ih/section-501·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
There is hereby established an American Health Security Quality Council (in this title referred to as the Council ). The Council shall perform the following duties: The Council shall review and evaluate each practice guideline developed under part B of title IX of the Public Health Service Act . The Council shall determine whether the guideline should be recognized as a national practice guideline to be used under section 204(d) for purposes of determining payments under a State health security program.
The Council shall review and evaluate each standard of quality, performance measure, and medical review criterion developed under part B of title IX of the Public Health Service Act . The Council shall determine whether the standard, measure, or criterion is appropriate for use in assessing or reviewing the quality of services provided by State health security programs, health care institutions, or health care professionals. The Council shall develop minimum criteria for competence for entities that can qualify to conduct ongoing and continuous external quality review for State quality review programs under section 503.
Such criteria shall require such an entity to be administratively independent of the individual or board that administers the State health security program and shall ensure that such entities do not provide financial incentives to reviewers to favor one pattern of practice over another. The Council shall ensure coordination and reporting by such entities to ensure national consistency in quality standards. The Council shall report to the Board annually on the conduct of activities under such title and shall report to the Board annually specifically on findings from outcomes research and development of practice guidelines that may affect the Board’s determination of coverage of services under section 401(f)(1)(G).
The Council shall perform the functions of the Council described in section 502. The Council shall be composed of 10 members appointed by the President. The President shall first appoint individuals on a timely basis so as to provide for the operation of the Council by not later than January 1, 2014. Each member of the Council shall be a member of a health profession. Five members of the Council shall be physicians. Individuals shall be appointed to the Council on the basis of national reputations for clinical and academic excellence.
To the greatest extent feasible, the membership of the Council shall represent the various geographic regions of the United States and shall reflect the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of the population of the United States. Individuals appointed to the Council shall serve for a term of 5 years, except that the terms of 4 of the individuals initially appointed shall be, as designated by the President at the time of their appointment, for 1, 2, 3, and 4 years. The President shall fill any vacancy in the membership of the Council in the same manner as the original appointment.
The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the Council. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the term for which the predecessor of the member was appointed. The President may reappoint a member of the Council for a second term in the same manner as the original appointment. A member who has served for 2 consecutive 5-year terms shall not be eligible for reappointment until 2 years after the member has ceased to serve.
The President shall designate 1 of the members of the Council to serve at the will of the President as Chair of the Council. Members of the Council who are not employees of the Federal Government shall be entitled to compensation at a level equivalent to level II of the Executive Schedule, in accordance with section 5313 of title 5, United States Code.