Term
| Health Maintenance Organizations |
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Definition
| Contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for yearly fee. Such Network health plans limit the choice of doctors and treatments. About 60 percent of Americans are enrolled. |
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| National Health Insurance |
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Definition
| A compulsory program for all Americans that would have government finance citizens' medical care. First proposed by President Harry S. Truman, the plan was soundly opposed by the American Medical Association. |
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Term
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Definition
| A program added to the Social Security system in 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other medical expenses. |
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Definition
| A public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans. Medicaid is funded by both the states and the national government. |
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Term
| Environmental Protection Agency |
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Definition
| Created in 1970 and charged with administering all the government's environmental legislation . It also administers policies dealing with toxic waste. It is the largest federal independent regulatory agency. |
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Term
| National Environmental Policy Act |
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Definition
| The law passed in 1969 that is the centerpiece of federal environmental policy in United States. Established the requirements for environmental impact statements. |
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Term
| Environmental Impact Statement |
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Definition
| A report required by the National Environmental Policy Act that specifies the likely environmental impact of proposed action. NEPA requires that whenever any agency propose to undertake a policy that impacts the environment, the agency must file a statement with with the EPA |
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Term
| Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 |
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Definition
| A law intended to clean up the nation's rivers and lakes. It requires municipal, industrial and other polluters to use pollution control technology and secure permits from the EPA for discharging waste products into waters. |
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Definition
| The law that charged the department of Transportation with responsibility to reduce automobile emissions. |
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Term
| Endanger Species Act of 1973 |
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Definition
| This law requires the federal government to protect actively each of the hundreds of species listed as endangered - regardless of the economic effect on surrounding towns or regions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Created by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites. Money for the fund comes from taxing chemical products. |
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