[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3489 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3489

To amend section 1341 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
   to repeal the funding mechanism for the transitional reinsurance 
       program in the individual market, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2013

 Mr. Tiberi (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Schock, Mr. 
 Brady of Texas, Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. Reichert, 
Mr. Griffin of Arkansas, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Turner, Mrs. Black, and Mr. 
Murphy of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 1341 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
   to repeal the funding mechanism for the transitional reinsurance 
       program in the individual market, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the most recent United States Census, 
        employer-based health insurance is the largest source of health 
        insurance coverage in the United States. Of those employed, 70 
        percent receive employment-based health insurance. Of 
        unemployed Americans, 30 percent receive employer-sponsored 
        health insurance.
            (2) Despite the large percentages of coverage, as health 
        care costs climb, the percentage of Americans who receive 
        health insurance through employers has fallen significantly 
        over the last decade--from 70 percent nationwide in 2000 to 60 
        percent in 2011, according to a report by the Robert Wood 
        Johnson Foundation.
            (3) According to recent surveys done by the National 
        Business Group on Health and the Kaiser Family Foundation, most 
        companies continue to provide health insurance for employees 
        and wish to continue doing so into the future.
            (4) Employers who offer insurance will not contribute 
        additional risk to the health insurance exchanges established 
        in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (in this Act 
        referred to as ``PPACA'').
            (5) The transitional reinsurance program, established in 
        section 1341 of PPACA, is intended to stabilize risk in the 
        individual health insurance market during the first three years 
        of the health insurance exchanges, as established by that Act.
            (6) PPACA also requires that the Treasury collect a fee for 
        each employer-sponsored covered life in order to pay for the 
        transitional reinsurance program.
            (7) This fee is a disincentive for employers to continue 
        offering coverage to all employees, and does not give employers 
        any benefits of the transitional reinsurance program.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to remove the current 
funding mechanism for the transitional reinsurance program. Employer-
sponsored insurance should be supported so that Americans can sustain 
quality health coverage.

SEC. 2. CHANGES IN FUNDING FOR TRANSITIONAL REINSURANCE PROGRAM IN THE 
              INDIVIDUAL MARKET.

    (a) In General.--Section 1341(b) of the Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148; 42 U.S.C. 18061(b)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``under which--'' and all 
        that follows and inserting the following: ``under which the 
        applicable reinsurance entity uses amounts appropriated under 
        paragraph (2)(B) to make reinsurance payments to health 
        insurance issuers that cover high risk individuals in the 
        individual market (excluding grandfathered health plans) for 
        any plan year beginning in the 3-year period beginning January 
        1, 2014.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``Payment amount'' and 
        all that follows through the end of the first sentence and 
        inserting the following: ``Authorization of appropriations; 
        payment formula.--There are hereby authorized to be 
        appropriated, based on the best estimates of the NAIC, 
        $10,000,000,000 for plan years beginning in 2014, 
        $6,000,000,000 for plan years beginning in 2015, and 
        $4,000,000,000 for plan years beginning in 2016 to make 
        reinsurance payments to health insurance issuers described in 
        paragraph (1) that insure high-risk individuals consistent with 
        paragraph (3).''; and
            (3) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(3) Extension of fund availability and treatment of 
        unexpended amounts.--
                    ``(A) Extension of fund availability.--The amounts 
                appropriated for a plan year under paragraph (2)(B) 
                shall be allocated among States and used in any of the 
                plan years referred to in such paragraph based on the 
                reinsurance needs of the States and periods involved, 
                as determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Treatment of unexpended amounts.--Amounts 
                appropriated under paragraph (2)(B) that remain 
                unexpended as of December 31, 2016, and that are 
                otherwise allocated to a State may be used to make 
                payments under any reinsurance program of the State in 
                the individual market in effect in the 2-year period 
                beginning on January 1, 2017.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if included in the enactment of section 1341 of Public 
Law 111-148.
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