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) Waiver of surety bond requirement.—Section 1834(a)(16) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(16)) is amended by adding at the end the following sentence: “The requirement for a surety bond described in subparagraph (B) shall not apply in the case of a pharmacy or supplier that exclusively furnishes eyeglasses or contact lenses described in section 1861(s)(8) if the pharmacy or supply has been enrolled under section 1866(j) as a supplier of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies and has been issued (which may include renewal of) a supplier number (as described in the first sentence of this paragraph) for at least 5 years, and if a final adverse action (as defined in section 424.57(a) of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations) has never been imposed for such pharmacy or supplier.”.

(b) Ensuring supply of oxygen equipment .—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834(a)(5)(F) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(5)(F)) is amended—

(A) in clause (ii), by striking “After the” and inserting “Except as provided in clause (iii), after the”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(iii) CONTINUATION OF SUPPLY.—In the case of a supplier furnishing such equipment to an individual under this subsection as of the 27th month of the 36 months described in clause (i), the supplier furnishing such equipment as of such month shall continue to furnish such equipment to such individual (either directly or though arrangements with other suppliers of such equipment) during any subsequent period of medical need for the remainder of the reasonable useful lifetime of the equipment, as determined by the Secretary, regardless of the location of the individual, unless another supplier has accepted responsibility for continuing to furnish such equipment during the remainder of such period.”.

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall take effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to the furnishing of equipment to individuals for whom the 27th month of a continuous period of use of oxygen equipment described in section 1834(a)(5)(F) of the Social Security Act occurs on or after July 1, 2010.

(c) Treatment of current accreditation applications.—Section 1834(a)(20)(F) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(20)(F)) is amended—

(1) in clause (i)—

(A) by striking “clause (ii)” and inserting “clauses (ii) and (iii)”; and

(B) by striking “and” at the end;

(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (ii)(II) and by inserting a semicolon;

(3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following new clauses:

“(iii) the requirement for accreditation described in clause (i) shall not apply for purposes of supplying diabetic testing supplies, canes, and crutches in the case of a pharmacy that is enrolled under section 1866(j) as a supplier of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies; and

“(iv) a supplier that has submitted an application for accreditation before August 1, 2009, shall retain the supplier’s provider or supplier number until an independent accreditation organization determines if such supplier complies with requirements under this paragraph.”; and

(4) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “Nothing in clauses (iii) and (iv) shall be construed as affecting the application of an accreditation requirement for suppliers to qualify for bidding in a competitive acquisition area under section 1847,”.

(d) Restoring 36-month oxygen rental period in case of supplier bankruptcy for certain individuals.—Section 1834(a)(5)(F) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(a)(5)(F)), as amended by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following new clause:

“(iv) EXCEPTION FOR BANKRUPTCY.—If a supplier who furnishes oxygen and oxygen equipment to an individual is declared bankrupt and its assets are liquidated and at the time of such declaration and liquidation more than 24 months of rental payments have been made, such individual may begin a new 36-month rental period under this subparagraph with another supplier of oxygen.”.