The “Mobile Medical Homeless Health Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 29) would provide mobile medical healthcare services to homeless populations. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez from New York introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on January 3, 2013 which was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Primary care, screenings, dental care, medications, behavioral healthcare, immunizations, lab tests, case management, benefits assistance and assessments and triage would be provided. Visiting a mobile medical healthcare service instead of the emergency department would result in a cost savings of more than $800 per visit.
The legislation may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreement to eligible entities to use the funding to improve the access of homeless individuals to mobile medical healthcare services. To be eligible for the funding a partnership must be established consisting of one or more hospitals plus one or more other local healthcare facilities including clinics, health centers, primary care facilities, mental health center, pharmacies or other medical assets.
The “Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2013” (H.R.235) introduced by Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Lois Capps from California would provide demonstration grants to use to streamline state requirements and procedures for veterans with military emergency medical training so that they can use their military training to become civilian emergency medical technicians.
The funds would be used to implement a plan on how to achieve this goal in states that have a shortage of emergency medical technicians. Research would be needed to determine how much education, training, and skills are needed to be an emergency medical technician.
Also, research would have to be done to see if emergency medical technicians’ now working in the states have the same requirements for the education, training, and skill level that military emergency medical technicians obtain. According to the bill, $1,000,000 would be appropriated for fiscal years 2014 through 2018.
For more information on these bills, go to www.thomas.gov.
