Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Public Law 114-97 · S. 599 · 114th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Dec 11, 2015 · Health
Sponsor: Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Cosponsors (14): Sen. Pat Toomey, Sen. Susan Collins,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to revise the length of the emergency psychiatric demonstration project under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act that is currently limited to three years.
Participation in the demonstration project shall be extended through FY2016 for any requesting states selected for eligibility to participate on or before March 13, 2012, if the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determines, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) certify, that a state's participation is projected not to increase net Medicaid program spending.
An additional extension through December 31, 2019, may be granted to a state, and the number of states eligible to participate may be expanded through December 31, 2019, if the same fiscal criteria are met.
HHS shall review annually each participating state's demonstration project expenditures to ensure budget neutrality. If a state's net programming spending has increased as a result of its participation in the project, HHS shall treat the excess expenditures as an overpayment under Medicaid.
This bill also revises certain limitations on federal funding.
HHS must submit recommendations to Congress: (1) first on whether the demonstration project should be continued after September 30, 2016, (2) whether it should be expanded to additional states, (3) subsequently on whether it should be permanently continued after December 31, 2019, in one or more states, and (4) finally on whether the demonstration project should be expanded (including on a nationwide basis).
$100,000 shall be available for the project from unobligated balances of amounts available in the CMS Program Management account.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
H.R. 3681Related bill
Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 21 actions.
- Dec 11, 2015Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 114-97.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 1, 2015FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Nov 20, 2015FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Nov 19, 2015Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Senate bill by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Resolving differences -- Senate actions: Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Senate bill by Unanimous Consent.
- Nov 17, 2015FloorFloor · Message on House action received in Senate and at desk: House amendment to Senate bill.
- Nov 16, 2015FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 599.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Pitts moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 29, 2015FloorFloor · Held at the desk.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 28, 2015FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Jul 30, 2015CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 180.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Finance. Reported by Senator Hatch with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 114-101.
- Jun 24, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Feb 26, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1168-1169; text of measure as introduced: CR S1169-1170)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.