[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H9217-H9218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SECURING FAIRNESS IN REGULATORY TIMING ACT OF 2015

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3831) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
extend the annual comment period for payment rates under Medicare 
Advantage, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3831

       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 ``Securing Fairness in 
     Regulatory Timing Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENDING THE ANNUAL COMMENT PERIOD FOR PAYMENT RATES 
                   UNDER MEDICARE ADVANTAGE.

       Section 1853(b)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1395w-23(b)(2)) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(or, in 2017 and each subsequent year, 
     at least 60 days)'' after ``45 days''; and
       (2) by inserting ``(in 2017 and each subsequent year, of no 
     less than 30 days)'' after ``opportunity''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3831, the Securing 
Fairness in Regulatory Timing Act of 2015. This is a small but really 
important piece of legislation. I am pleased to have the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson), my friend, here to discuss this important 
measure.
  The House passed this measure earlier this year, in June, by 
unanimous consent. Now, we return to the bill to add the technical 
corrections asked for by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
and the Senate so we can send this bill to the President's desk before 
the end of the year.
  Today, the Medicare Advantage program, known by many as the MA 
program, serves more than 16 million seniors across the United States 
of America, including my mom and dad. Enrollment has increased more 
than threefold in the past 10 years and is expected to nearly double in 
the next 10 years.
  To ensure that seniors in MA plans across the country are able to 
continue to receive the high-quality care that they deserve, CMS is 
expected to pay about $156 billion to more than 3,600 MA plans this 
year alone. That amounts to nearly 30 percent of overall Medicare 
spending.
  Typically, every year CMS sends out what it calls a rate notice to 
plans and Medicare Advantage companies that details the various payment 
rates, as well as benefit changes that the agency intends to make for 
the following plan year that impacts people like my mom and dad. This 
notice follows the standard process of a draft notice. It gets 
published; then the public has a certain amount of time to submit 
comments and questions; and then the agency publishes a final notice 
based on that feedback that they receive.
  However, MA and Part D aren't treated the same as the other major 
payment systems within Medicare itself. Right now, the current process 
takes about 45 days, but only 15 of those days are allotted for the 
commenting portion; 15 days for thousands of plans, millions of 
stakeholders to submit comments on proposed changes to a program that 
amounts to one-third of all Medicare spending.
  I could almost understand this if the rate notice were a short and 
concise document, if it were easy to understand and simple to 
implement. But it is not. In fact, the rate notice has grown from 
around 16 pages in 2006 to nearly 150 pages this year. That is over a 
900 percent increase. All the while, the time for the public comment 
period has remained static, exactly the same.
  This means less and less time for the plans and Congress to conduct 
the necessary review in order to provide CMS with the kind of feedback 
that would better help the agency assess the impact of their proposed 
changes to consumers. This is important because without accurate 
feedback, CMS could inadvertently move forward with a proposed change 
to the Medicare Advantage program that might negatively impact those 
seniors--again, like my mom and dad--who depend on these plans for 
access to their providers, to their doctors.
  The legislation before us is simple, and it is straightforward. It 
extends the public notice period from 45 days to 60 days. Therefore, it 
would double the extension of the comment period from 15 days to 30 
days. This is a commonsense, good-government fix we can make that will 
give plans more time to understand the changes that CMS proposes and 
other constructive feedback in order to make the Medicare Advantage 
program, overall, more responsive to senior citizens' needs.
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this 
legislation again and send it to the Senate so we can get it to the 
President's desk.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as 
I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 3831, the Securing Fairness in Regulatory 
Timing Act of 2015. Every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services publishes its Medicare Advantage call letter and rate notice, 
which outlines payment rates and changes for the nearly 2,000 plans 
that serve our most vulnerable population.
  Nearly 10 years ago, the call letter and rate notice were less than 
20 pages long. However, since then, enrollment in Medicare Advantage 
has nearly tripled, from 5.4 million to 16 million. Medicare Advantage 
policies have become more complex, and the call letter and rate notice 
has grown nearly tenfold, sometimes up to over 200 pages long.
  At the same time, the time between the publishing of these draft 
notices and the final notices, which is currently 45 days, has remained 
unchanged. During this 45-day period, in which there are only 15 days 
to comment on the proposed changes in the program, plans, stockholders, 
members, and staff, are expected to review 150 pages of regulatory 
changes and understand the impacts of those proposed policy changes on 
a program that provides essential medical care to over a third of 
Medicare beneficiaries.
  We know from our experience, every February and March, that this does 
not lend itself to an efficient, effective, nor transparent process. 
Moreover, it

[[Page H9218]]

shortchanges CMS of thoughtful, constructive feedback that is necessary 
to improve a program that our seniors enjoy and rely on.
  H.R. 3831 is a simple, straightforward bill that will improve the 
current process by expanding the cycle from 45 to 60 days, and that 
gives plans, stakeholders, Members, and our staff 30 full days--double 
the current time allowed--to analyze and provide feedback on the draft 
call letter and rate notice.
  This is a no-cost, good-government, bipartisan bill that will make 
the process more transparent, fair, and advantageous for the 
beneficiaries we serve. As my good friend from Ohio pointed out, we 
have already passed this bill. It is only coming back for some 
technical changes. I would ask, and strongly recommend, that all our 
colleagues vote in favor of this bill so we can pass it to the Senate 
and get on with our work.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 3831, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, just to close, I agree 100 percent with my 
friend from California. I urge all our colleagues to support this 
important piece of legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 3831, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________