Patient Advocate Act of 2008
Official title: To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a demonstration grants program to provide for certain patient coordination, outreach, and as… Show full official titleShow less
Official title: To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a demonstration grants program to provide for certain patient coordination, outreach, and assistance services to reduce barriers to receiving health care and improve health care outcomes.
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Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2044)
Patient Advocate Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program under which the Secretary may make grants for the development and operation of programs to provide services for patients to resolve health insurance, job retention, and debt crisis matters related to the patients' diagnosis and illness. Includes as services to be provided by grant recipients: (1) acting as contacts for individuals who are seeking prevention or early detection services or treatment for an adverse health condition; (2) facilitating the involvement of community organizations in assisting individuals to receive better access to high-quality health care services; (3) notifying individuals of clinical trials and facilitating enrollment of individuals in trials; (4) anticipating, identifying, and helping individuals to overcome barriers within the health care system to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment; (5) coordinating with the relevant health insurance ombudsman programs to provide information to individuals about health coverage; and (6) conducting ongoing outreach to health disparity populations in addition to assisting other individuals to seek preventive care.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) require grantees to prohibit any patient health advocate providing services under the grant from accepting any referral fee, kickback, or other thing of value in return for referring an individual to a particular health care provider; and (2) prohibit the use of any grant funds to pay any fees or costs resulting from any proceeding to resolve a legal dispute.
Sets forth provisions prohibiting discrimination in any program or activities funded or otherwise financially assisted under this Act.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 7079: Patient Advocate Act of 2008. 110th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-7079/
"H.R. 7079: Patient Advocate Act of 2008." 110th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-7079/.
H.R. 7079, 110th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-7079/.
[H.R. 7079: Patient Advocate Act of 2008](https://openamerica.io/bill/110-HR-7079/)