[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2175 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2175

  To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to enhance 
  access for independent agents and brokers to information regarding 
                        marketplace enrollment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 2014

 Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Warner, Ms. 
Heitkamp, and Mr. Begich) introduced the following bill; which was read 
 twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to enhance 
  access for independent agents and brokers to information regarding 
                        marketplace enrollment.

    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 ``Enhancing Access for Agents and 
Brokers Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCING ACCESS FOR INDEPENDENT AGENTS AND BROKERS.

    (a) Agent and Broker and Consumer Support Line.--Not later than 30 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall establish a dedicated toll-free customer 
service support help line to enable certified health insurance agents 
and brokers to seek assistance regarding qualified health plans offered 
in the Federal health insurance marketplace.
    (b) National Producer Number.--Section 1312(e) of the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18032(e)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively and redesignating the 
        margins accordingly;
            (2) by striking ``The Secretary shall'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) National producer number.--The Secretary shall 
        establish procedures to permit a broker name and National 
        Producer Number to be added to an application for enrollment in 
        a qualified health plan offered through an Exchange at any time 
        during the application process, and for any enrollment period 
        described in section 1311(c)(6). Such procedures shall ensure 
        that the National Producer Number is designed to assist 
        consumers in obtaining needed assistance to complete 
        enrollment, to ensure that brokers are adequately compensated 
        for their role in that process, and to provide protections to 
        consumers by identifying each agent or broker that has worked 
        on an enrollment case in the event of any errors or other 
        issues with the application.
            ``(3) List of agents and brokers.--Not later than 14 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the 
        Secretary shall make available on the Internet website 
        maintained by the Federal Government for health insurance 
        coverage (healthcare.gov or any subsequent Internet site (or 
        sites) that is established in whole or in part by the Federal 
        Government to facilitate enrollment in qualified health plans, 
        the receipt of tax credits or cost sharing reduction 
        assistance, or comparisons of available qualified health plans) 
        a list of all agents and brokers who have been trained and are 
        currently certified by the Federal Exchange, including their 
        name and National Producer number and if available their 
        business address, electronic mail address, website, and phone 
        number. The Secretary shall enter into a contract with the 
        National Insurance Producers Registry to regularly verify, at 
        least on a monthly basis, the licensure status of all of agents 
        and brokers who have been trained and are currently certified 
        by the Federal Exchange and a mechanism shall be developed and 
        made accessible to all certified agents and brokers to enable 
        such agents and brokers to submit any changes to their contact 
        and licensure information to the Secretary so that such website 
        updates contain accurate agent and broker contact information.
            ``(4) New information disclosure.--Not later than 5 
        business days after the promulgation of any new regulation, or 
        issuance of any guidance, technical letter, or other official 
        policy statement that impacts the enrollment of individuals in 
        qualified health plans, the receipt of tax credits or cost 
        sharing reduction assistance, or comparisons of available 
        qualified health plans, the Secretary provide all navigators 
        (under section 1311(i)), agents, and brokers who have been 
        trained and are currently certified by the Federal Exchange 
        with a clear description of such policy changes, including 
        specific practical guidance as to how certified navigators, 
        agents, and brokers can best assist their clients and help 
        clients take advantage of any such policy changes.''.
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