[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1079 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1079

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend reasonable 
               cost contracts under the Medicare program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2009

  Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Udall of 
Colorado, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; which was read 
             twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend reasonable 
               cost contracts under the Medicare program.

    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 ``Medicare Cost Contract Extension and 
Refinement Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF REASONABLE COST CONTRACTS.

    (a) Extension of Period Reasonable Cost Plans Can Remain in the 
Market.--Section 1876(h)(5)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395mm(h)(5)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``January 1, 2010'' and 
        inserting ``January 1, 2013''; and
            (2) in clause (iii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), 
        by striking ``if the service area for the year meets'' and 
        inserting ``if the portion of the plan's service area for the 
        year that is within the service area of a reasonable cost 
        reimbursement contract meets''.
    (b) Extension of Period Reasonable Cost Plans Can Expand Their 
Service Area.--Section 1876(h)(5)(B)(i) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395mm(h)(5)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(i) the conditions for prohibiting an extension or 
        renewal of a contract under subparagraph (C)(ii) are not 
        applicable to such service area at the time of the application; 
        and''.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE REQUIREMENTS TO COST 
              CONTRACTS EXTENDED OR RENEWED AFTER DATE OF ENACTMENT.

    Section 1876(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395mm(h)), 
as amended by section (2), is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``(5)(A) Any reasonable cost reimbursement contract with an 
eligible organization under this subsection that is extended or renewed 
on or after the date of the enactment of the Medicare Cost Contract 
Extension and Refinement Act of 2009 shall provide that the provisions 
of the Medicare Advantage program under part C described in 
subparagraph (B) shall apply to such organization and such contract in 
a substantially similar manner as such provisions apply to Medicare 
Advantage organizations and Medicare Advantage plans under such part.
    ``(B) The provisions described in this subparagraph are as follows:
            ``(i) Section 1851(d) (relating to the provision of 
        information to promote informed choice).
            ``(ii) Section 1851(h) (relating to the approval of 
        marketing material and application forms).
            ``(iii) Section 1852(a)(3)(A) (regarding the authority of 
        organizations to include mandatory supplemental health care 
        benefits under the plan subject to the approval of the 
        Secretary).
            ``(iv) Section 1852(e) (relating to the requirement of 
        having an ongoing quality improvement program and treatment of 
        accreditation in the same manner as such provisions apply to 
        Medicare Advantage local plans that are preferred provider 
        organization plans).
            ``(v) Section 1852(j)(4) (relating to limitations on 
        physician incentive plans).
            ``(vi) Section 1854(g) (relating to restrictions on 
        imposition of premium taxes with respect to payments to 
        organizations).
            ``(vii) Section 1856(b)(3) (relating to relation to State 
        laws).
            ``(viii) Section 1857(i) (relating to Medicare Advantage 
        program compatibility with employer or union group health 
        plans).
            ``(ix) The provisions of part C relating to timelines for 
        contract renewal and beneficiary notification.''.
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