The amendment directs relevant House committees to draft legislation that would permanently change the formula for determining Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians.

Under both bills, drivers could face hefty fines and even prison time for accidents due to driving while fatigued.

Under the two bills, a person who falls asleep while driving or is  proven to be without sleep for 24 or more consecutive hours would be considered by state law to be fatigued.

The comment advised that the strategy’s Strategic Directions should be expanded to include healthy sleep, recognizing the reality of poor sleep as a readily identifiable and modifiable risk factor associated with the leading causes of death.

Adopted on Jan. 5, rules package H. Res. 5 revises House operating rules and includes numerous directions for how the House in the 112^th Congress will address budget issues. 

Modern Healthcare reports that the first provider payments have already been issued; participants should register early to get the maximum incentive payments.

At the start of this initiative, there were 18 state sleep societies. Currently, there are 43 established state sleep societies.

The bill designates the first week of September as "Drowsy Driving Prevention Week." During the week, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation are encouraged to educate the law enforcement community and the public about the relationship between fatigue and driving performance.

Hawaii was one of two states (with Alaska) that did not have statutory language addressing the education or training requirements for either sleep technologists or respiratory therapists.

Virginia is now the ninth jurisdiction to provide sleep technologists a specific licensure/certification pathway. Other jurisdictions that have licensure/certification include: California, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington D.C.