health maintenance organization
Organization contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for a yearly fee
patients' bill of rights
A controversial proposal before Congress that would give patients certain rights against medical providers
national health insurance
A compulsory insurance program for all Americans that would have the government finance citizens' medical care
Medicare
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
Medicaid
A public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans
Environmental Protection Agency
An agency of the federal government created in 1970 and charged with administering all the government's environmental legislation
National Environmental Policy Act
The law passed in 1969 that is the centerpiece of federal environmental policy in the United States
environmental impact statement
A report required by the National Environmental Policy Act that specifies the likely environmental impact of a proposed action
Clean Air Act of 1970
The law that charged the Department of Transportation with the responsibility to reduce automobile emissions
Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
A law intended to clean up the nation's rivers and lakes, requiring municipal, industrial, and other polluters to use pollution control technology and secure permits from the EPA for discharging waste products into waters
Endangered Species Act of 1973
This law requires the federal government to protect actively each of the hundreds of species listed as endangered
Superfund
A fund created by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites that is funded by taxes on chemical products