Quality Data, Quality Healthcare Act of 2015
Latest action (9 Mar 2015): Introduced
What this bill does
Generate a neutral, plain-English explanation of what this bill does, who it affects and what happens next — grounded in the official text.
Official summary
Quality Data, Quality Healthcare Act of 2015
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the use of certain data by qualified public or private entities to evaluate the performance of service providers and suppliers under Medicare insurance programs.
Authorizes a qualified entity to: (1) use Medicare data, and information derived from service provider and supplier performance evaluations, for additional non-public analyses; or (2) provide or sell such data and analyses to specified health care-related entities for non-public use (including for purposes of assisting service providers and suppliers to develop and participate in quality and patient care improvement activities, particularly development of new models of care).
Conditions such authorization upon a data use agreement between a qualified entity and a specified health care-related entity under which the latter: (1) may not re-sell such data or analyses, and (2) shall comply with the qualified entity's privacy and security policies in using such data or analyses.
Prescribes a civil money penalty for unauthorized use of data and analyses.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide Medicare claims data to qualified clinical data registries for purposes of linking it with clinical outcomes data and performing and disseminating risk-adjusted, scientifically valid research to support quality improvement.
Prohibits a qualified clinical data registry from reporting publicly any claims data thus made available that individually identifies a service provider or supplier without prior consent.
Common questions
- What does S. 679 do?
- Quality Data, Quality Healthcare Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the use of certain data by qualified public or private entities to evaluate the performance of service providers and suppliers under Medicare insurance programs. Authorizes a qualified entity to: (1) use Medicare data, and information derived from service provider and supplier performance evaluations, for additional non-public analyses; or (2) provide or sell such data and analyses to specified health care-related entities for non-public use (including for purposes of assisting service providers and suppliers to develop and participate in quality and patient care improvement activities, particularly development of new models of care). Conditions such authorization upon a data use agreement between a qualified entity and a specified health care-related entity under which the latter: (1) may not re-sell such data or analyses, and (2) shall comply with the qualified entity's privacy and security policies in using such data or analyses. Prescribes a civil money penalty for unauthorized use of data and analyses. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide Medicare claims data to qualified clinical data registries for purposes of linking it with clinical outcomes data and performing and disseminating risk-adjusted, scientifically valid research to support quality improvement. Prohibits a qualified clinical data registry from reporting publicly any claims data thus made available that individually identifies a service provider or supplier without prior consent.
- Has S. 679 become law?
- Not yet. As of 9 Mar 2015, S. 679 is introduced.
- Who sponsored S. 679?
- S. 679 was sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI] (Democrat-WI), with 2 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on S. 679?
- Introduced (9 Mar 2015).
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