Interesting amendments to House bill

[ProSense]

SUMMARY OF MANAGER’S AMENDMENT

Building on the legislation House Democrats introduced last week, the manager’s amendment provides for several changes to the bill, including the following:

• Establishes a process for the review and public disclosure of health insurance premium increases and justifications for those increases by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and states beginning in 2010. Permits the Commissioner of the Health Insurance Exchange, beginning in 2013, to take into consideration excessive and unjustified premium increases in making decisions regarding which insurance companies will be permitted into the exchange and how quickly to open the exchange to employers for the purchase of insurance for their employees. Provides a total of $1 billion in funding for states for this process over the period 2010 to 2014.
  
  
• Repeals the McCarran-Ferguson Act insurance antitrust exemption with respect to health insurance and medical malpractice insurance.
  
  
• Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to investigate insurance companies that are registered as not-for-profit companies.
  
  
• Directs the HHS Secretary to work with states that have alternative programs to state high risk pools as a part of the new National High Risk Pool program for people who can’t get health insurance in today’s marketplace.
  
  
• Amends the National High-Risk Pool to make those early retirees whose premium increases are excessive eligible for the new program.
  
  
• Prohibits undocumented individuals from accessing financial assistance from the national high risk pool program with requirements for verification of citizenship or lawful presence.
  
  
• Requires that the Medicare fraud and abuse phone number be printed prominently on beneficiaries’ Explanation of Benefits forms.
  
  
• Imposes a 90-day waiting period for new durable medical equipment suppliers to be paid if the HHS Secretary believes there is a risk for fraud.
  
  
• Establishes a new public health program on mental health and substance abuse screening, intervention, referral, and recovery services.
  
  
• Provides for the development of quality indicators for Alzheimer’s care.
  
  
• Provides for diabetes screening collaboration and outreach through the Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  
  
• Codifies the Office of Minority Health within the Office of the HHS Secretary and establishes satellite minority health offices in various HHS agencies.
  
  
• Clarifies that states may reimburse nursing homes for costs incurred in conducting background checks on potential employees.
  
  
• Provides a special rule for the expansion of certain physician-owned hospitals that consistently treat the highest percentage of Medicaid patients in their communities.
  
  
• Changes the effective date for a payment change for skilled nursing facilities from January 1, 2010 to April 1, 2010.
  
  
• Imposes performance assessment and accountability measures on the Health Choices Administration, including requirements for improving customer service and streamlining redundant rules, regulations, and procedures.
  
  
• Permits a qualified health benefits plan to provide coverage through a qualified direct primary care medical home plan.
  
  
• Repeals the worldwide interest allocation rules.
  
  
• Closes down the loophole that allows unprocessed fuels (like black liquor) to claim the $1.01 producers credit.
  
  
• Makes clarifications to the interstate insurance compacts that require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop model guidelines for compacting states, ensures that the interstate insurance compacts do not override state laws governing rate review and fraud, and makes clear that the compacting states determine which of the compacting state’s laws serve as primary for the insurance company.
  
  
• Delays implementation of the provision that would eliminate the ability of employers to deduct Federal subsidies with respect to prescription drug benefits provided to retirees by two years.
  
  
• Clarifies that the business/consumer purchasing collaborative provided for in the early access health grants is a non-profit business collaborative.
  
  
• Requires HHS Secretary to conduct a study to determine the existence of duplicative HHS programs and establishes a process for the elimination of any such program.

Text of amendments: PDF

[babylonsister]

1. Wow! Repeals the McCarran-Ferguson Act insurance antitrust exemption?!!

That's huge all by itself.

Rec'd.

[MarlaM]

2. My concerns about the Stupak ammendment have now been allayed

Thanks.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Repeals the McCarran-Ferguson Act insurance antitrust exemption with respect to health insurance and

and medical malpractice insurance?

[vaberella]

10. No one is talking about it.

What's so big about this repeal, if you don't mind me asking?!

[POAS]

18. Under McCarran-Ferguson

insurance companies are free to collaborate on rates and policies, essentially becoming cartels.

It also allows that a market can be (and some have been) monopolized by one or two large insurance providers.

One of the reasons the GOP pushed the idea of allowing marketing across state lines (with M-F still in place) is that companies operating from states with lax regulations could spread their monopolistic ways across those boundaries further concentrating power into a few companies.

[HopeOverFear]

4. This right here is such a blessing

Establishes a new public health program on mental health and substance abuse screening, intervention, referral, and recovery services.

[ProSense]

7. A lot of really good stuff in this bill. n/t

[Egnever]

20. Lots of really good stuff!

Thanks for continuing to try to educate people on it!

[Cha]

5. Thanks again..

kr

[Clio the Leo]

6. The angel is in the details.....

... as opposed to "the devil is in the details." ;)

[elehhhhna]

8. WTH is this and why is it in the HC bill?

Closes down the loophole that allows unprocessed fuels (like black liquor) to claim the $1.01 producers credit.


Black Liquor

Black liquor is a byproduct of the pulping process. During pulping, wood fibers are separated and treated to produce a pulp, which is then converted into paper. With chemical pulping, the lignin in wood is dissolved in a digester, which separates the fibers and creates black liquor, a tar-like substance, as a waste product.



Fuel Availability

Most pulp and paper mills use all of their black liquor to provide for onsite heat and power needs. Black liquor is a proven opportunity fuel, already extensively used by pulp and paper mills, especially for steam generation. If a market were to develop, it could potentially be sold as an alternative boiler fuel. However, its scarcity and the lack of a supporting distribution infrastructure, keep the fuel from being a serious candidate for outside markets.

[vaberella]

9. But Kucinich said this bill wasn't worth voting on...And many of his supporters agree.

Well I thank God for the people who believed it was worth voting on and the rest could go straight to hell. Thanks for this. I really appreciate this and makes the bill appear that much better. It's informative so I give this a :kick: Rec and I bookmarked it for later.

[vaberella]

11. Why isn't this getting more attention?! n/t

[FrenchieCat]

12. Because it confuses the issue for those who want this bill to be seen as "bad"

and to fail.

[vaberella]

13. Understood. Some good in the bill is impossible.

Well I'm happy about so much good news. I know the bill had good parts, but these are even better. I really don't even want to bother with the Senate one.

[Egnever]

21. At this point I fear the senate bill

I really do like the house bill and am afraid the senate will water it down.

[ProSense]

14. Thanks. n/t

[grantcart]

16. HA!!!!!

[grantcart]

15. Substantative, Informative and unbiased

No wonder I had to hunt to find it

[FrenchieCat]

19. Sshhh........

Don't disturb those who believe that passing no bill will punish the Insurance Companies! They are in a roll!

[RepublicanElephant]

17. k&r nt

[JTFrog]

22. Kick!

Too late for rec, but this is excellent stuff!

[uponit7771]

23. I'm kicking every hour on the hour