S. 631: Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act

111th Congress · introduced 2009-03-18 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-03-18 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act

Plain summary

Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to identify efficient, effective, and economical procedures for long-term care facilities or providers to conduct background checks on prospective direct patient access employees on a nationwide basis under similar terms and conditions as the pilot program established under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. Sets forth requirements for states wishing to participate in the program, including requiring: (1) searches of neglect registries and databases; (2) searches of any proceedings that may contain disqualifying information; (3) searches of federal criminal history records, including a fingerprint check; and (4) methods that reduce duplicative fingerprinting. Sets forth program requirements. Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to evaluate the program under this Act. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require state claims processing and information retrieval systems to incorporate compatible methodologies of the National Correct Coding Initiative administered by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to identify and notify states as to which methodologies should be incorporated.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Kohl, Herb [D-WI] · 13 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s631.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s631 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111