Index for HR3962: Affordable Health Care for America Act

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

Mr. Dingell (for himself, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Waxman, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Stark, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Andrews) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Oversight and Government Reform, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

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

(a) Assuring coordination.—The officers consisting of the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Health Choices Commissioner shall ensure, through the execution of an interagency memorandum of understanding among such officers, that—

(1) regulations, rulings, and interpretations issued by such officers relating to the same matter over which two or more of such officers have responsibility under subpart B of part 8 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and section 2793 of the Public Health Service Act are administered so as to have the same effect at all times; and

(2) coordination of policies relating to enforcing the same requirements through such officers in order to have a coordinated enforcement strategy that avoids duplication of enforcement efforts and assigns priorities in enforcement.

(b) Multiemployer plans.—In the case of a group health plan that is a multiemployer plan (as defined in section 3(37) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), the regulations prescribed in accordance with subsection (a) by the officers referred to in subsection (a) shall provide for the application of the health coverage participation requirements to the plan sponsor and contributing employers of such plan. For purposes of this division, contributions made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or other agreement to such a group health plan shall be treated as amounts paid by the employer.