[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23567-23568]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           STATE HIGH RISK POOL FUNDING EXTENSION ACT OF 2004

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP 
Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 2283 and that 
the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2283) to extend Federal funding for operations 
     of State high risk health insurance pools.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the 
Record without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2283) was read the third time and passed as follows:

                                S. 2283

       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 ``State High Risk Pool Funding 
     Extension Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR OPERATION OF STATE HIGH RISK 
                   HEALTH INSURANCE POOLS.

       (a) Extension of Seed Grants.--Section 2745 of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-45) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), in the subsection heading by 
     inserting ``Extension of'' before ``Seed''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``$20,000,000'' and 
     all that follows through ``2003'' and inserting ``$15,000,000 
     for the period of fiscal years 2004 and 2005''.
       (b) Funds for Operations.--Section 2745 of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-45) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in the subsection heading by striking ``Matching''; and
       (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(2) Allotment.--The amounts appropriated under subsection 
     (c)(2) for a fiscal year shall be made available to the 
     States (or the entities that operate the high risk pool under 
     applicable State law) as follows:
       ``(A) An amount equal to 50 percent of the appropriated 
     amount for the fiscal year shall be allocated in equal 
     amounts among each eligible State that applies for assistance 
     under this subsection.
       ``(B) An amount equal to 25 percent of the appropriated 
     amount for the fiscal year shall be allocated among the 
     States so that the amount provided to a State bears the same 
     ratio to such available amount as the number of uninsured 
     individuals in the State bears to the total number of 
     uninsured individuals in all States (as determined by the 
     Secretary).
       ``(C) An amount equal to 25 percent of the appropriated 
     amount for the fiscal year shall be allocated among the 
     States so that the amount provided to a State bears the same 
     ratio to such available amount as the number of individuals 
     enrolled in health care coverage through the qualified high 
     risk pool of the State bears to the total number of 
     individuals so enrolled through qualified high risk pools in 
     all States (as determined by the Secretary).''; and
       (2) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``$40,000,000'' and 
     all that follows through the period and inserting 
     ``$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 to 
     make allotments under subsection (b)(2).''.
       (c) Definitions.--Section 2745 of the Public Health Service 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-45) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (d), by inserting after ``2744(c)(2)'' 
     the following: ``, except that with respect to subparagraph 
     (A) of such section a State may elect to provide for the 
     enrollment of eligible individuals through an acceptable 
     alternative mechanism,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(e) Standard Risk Rate.--In subsection (b)(1)(A), the 
     term `standard risk rate' means a rate--
       ``(1) determined under the State high risk pool by 
     considering the premium rates charged by other health 
     insurers offering

[[Page 23568]]

     health insurance coverage to individuals in the insurance 
     market served;
       ``(2) that is established using reasonable actuarial 
     techniques; and
       ``(3) that reflects anticipated claims experience and 
     expenses for the coverage involved.''.

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