[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 22, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       INTRODUCTION OF H.R. 4095

                                 ______


                         HON. TILLIE K. FOWLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 22, 1994

  Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced, H.R. 4095, a bill 
to repeal a particularly onerous and unnecessary administrative burden 
on our Nation's employers. This bill would repeal section 13581 of the 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, which established the 
Medicare and Medicaid Data Bank.
  As Congress considers how to increase access to health care, the last 
thing we need to do is discourage employers from providing health 
insurance for their employees. Yet that is exactly what is happening as 
employers realize they must deal with a new and intrusive employer 
mandate which was a last minute addition to the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1993.
  Section 13581 of the OBRA established the Medicare and Medicaid Data 
Bank, and requires all employers who offer health insurance to provide 
extensive information on current and past employees and their 
dependents. The rationale for the requirement--that employers can get 
this information easier than the Government and at little cost--is 
profoundly flawed. Most employers do not keep the required information 
on hand. In many cases, the information will have to be compiled 
manually, costing a great deal of time and money to employers who are 
already drowning in a sea of Federal regulation. Failure to comply with 
the requirement will result in up to a $1,000 fine per violation.
  No funding was provided for either the employers or the Health Care 
Financing Administration, which is responsible for implementing the 
data bank. The lack of funding for HCFA especially makes it extremely 
unlikely that the law can be successfully implemented.
  The creation of the data bank was intended to prevent the mistaken 
payment to physicians and hospitals by Medicare and Medicaid when a 
third party is the primary payer. However, much of the information 
obtained through the employer requirements is already accessible to 
HCFA and is not currently being used for that purpose. Further, the 
employer requirements are so broad that employers must provide 
information on tens of millions of additional persons who are neither 
Medicare nor Medicaid enrollees. A preliminary GAO report indicates 
that only about 2 percent of employees and their dependents are 
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries subject to secondary payer rules.
  The current law requires an enormous outlay of time, money, and 
effort for a miniscule return, and it is one more unfunded mandate on 
the back of American business. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
repealing this impractical and intrusive law, by signing on as a 
cosponsor of HR 4095.

                               H.R. 4095

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

     SECTION 1. REPEAL OF MEDICARE AND MEDICAID COVERAGE DATA 
                   BANK.

       (a) Repeal.--
       (1) In general.--Effective January 1, 1994, section 13581 
     of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 is hereby 
     repealed and any provision of the law amended by such section 
     is restored and shall be applied and administered as if such 
     a section had not been enacted into law.
       (b) Study and Report.--
       (1) Study.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the `Secretary') 
     shall conduct a study on how to achieve the objectives of the 
     data bank described in section 1144 of the Social Security 
     Act (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 
     of this Act) in the most cost-effective manner, taking into 
     account--
       (A) the administrative burden of such data bank on private 
     sector entities and governments.
       (B) the possible duplicative reporting requirements of the 
     Health Care Financing Administration in effect on such date 
     of enactment, and
       (C) the legal ability of such entities and governments to 
     acquire the required information.
       (2) Report.--The Secretary shall report to the Congress on 
     the results of the study described in paragraph (1) by not 
     later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act.