[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1569 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1569

    To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to facilitate the 
   establishment of additional long-term care insurance partnerships 
 between States and insurers in order to promote the use of long-term 
                            care insurance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2005

  Mr. Craig (for himself and Mr. Bayh) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to facilitate the 
   establishment of additional long-term care insurance partnerships 
 between States and insurers in order to promote the use of long-term 
                            care insurance.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``State Long-Term Care Partnership Act 
of 2005''.

SEC. 2. ALLOWANCE OF ADDITIONAL STATE LONG-TERM CARE PARTNERSHIPS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1917(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(C)(i), by striking ``shall seek 
        adjustment'' and inserting ``may seek adjustment'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)(C)(ii), by inserting ``Qualified State 
        Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership or under a'' after 
        ``Clause (i) shall not apply in the case of an individual who 
        received medical assistance under a''; and
            (3) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ``(and shall include, 
        in the case of an individual to whom paragraph (1)(C)(i) 
        applies)''.
    (b) Definition of a Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance 
Partnership.--Section 1917(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396p(e)) is amended by inserting at the end the following:
            ``(6) The term `Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance 
        Partnership' means a State plan amendment that provides for the 
        disregard of any assets or resources in an amount equal to the 
        insurance benefits payments that are made under a long-term 
        care insurance policy (including a certificate issued under a 
        group insurance contract), but only if--
                    ``(A) the policy covers an insured who, at the time 
                coverage under the policy first becomes effective, is a 
                resident of such State or of a State that maintains a 
                Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership;
                    ``(B) the policy is a qualified long-term care 
                insurance contract within the meaning of section 
                7702B(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
                    ``(C) the policy provides some level of inflation 
                protection;
                    ``(D) the policy satisfies any requirements of 
                State or other applicable law that apply to a long-term 
                care insurance policy; and
                    ``(E) the issuer of the policy reports--
                            ``(i) to the Secretary, such information or 
                        data as the Secretary may require; and
                            ``(ii) to the State, the information or 
                        data reported to the Secretary (if any), the 
                        information or data required under the minimum 
                        reporting requirements developed under section 
                        2(c)(1) of the State Long-Term Care Partnership 
                        Act of 2005, and such additional information or 
                        data as the State may require.
        For purposes of applying this paragraph, if a long-term care 
        insurance policy is exchanged for another such policy, the date 
        coverage became effective under the first policy shall 
        determine when coverage first becomes effective.''.
    (c) Regulatory Authority.--Not later than 6 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(in this subsection and subsection (d) referred to as the 
``Secretary''), in consultation with the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners, issuers of long-term care insurance policies, 
States with experience with long-term care insurance partnership plans, 
and other States, shall develop the following requirements and 
standards:
            (1) Minimum, consistent reporting requirements.--
                    (A) In general.--Minimum reporting requirements for 
                issuers of long-term care insurance policies under 
                Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance Partnerships 
                that shall specify the data and information that each 
                such issuer shall report to the State with which it has 
                such a partnership. The requirements developed in 
                accordance with this paragraph shall specify the type 
                and format of the data and information to be reported 
                and the frequency with which such reports are to be 
                made.
                    (B) State required data.--Nothing in subparagraph 
                (A) shall be construed as prohibiting a State from 
                requiring an issuer of a long-term care insurance 
                policy sold in the State (regardless of whether the 
                policy is issued under a Qualified State Long-Term Care 
                Insurance Partnership) to require the issuer to report 
                State information or data to the State that is in 
                addition to the information or data required under the 
                minimum reporting requirements developed under that 
                subparagraph.
            (2) Reciprocity standards.--Standards for ensuring that 
        long-term care insurance policies issued under a Qualified 
        State Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership are portable to 
        other States with such a partnership.
    (d) Consumer Education.--The Secretary shall establish procedures 
for educating consumers regarding Qualified State Long-Term Care 
Insurance Partnerships and long-term care insurance policies issued in 
connection with such partnerships.
    (e) Annual Reports to Congress.--The Secretary shall annually 
report to Congress on the Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance 
Partnerships established in accordance with subsections (b)(1)(C)(ii) 
and (e)(6) of section 1917 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1396p).
    (f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
take effect on October 1, 2005.
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