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) Coordination with CLASS provisions.—Section 1902(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)), as amended by sections 1631(b), 1703(a), 1729, 1753, 1757(a), 1759(a), 1783(a), and 1907(b), is amended—

(1) in paragraph (80), by striking “and” at the end;

(2) in paragraph (81), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (81) the following:

“(82) provide that the State will comply with such regulations regarding the application of primary and secondary payor rules with respect to individuals who are eligible for medical assistance under this title and are eligible beneficiaries under the CLASS program established under title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act as the Secretary shall establish.”.

(b) Assurance of adequate infrastructure for the provision of personal care attendant workers.—Section 1902(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(a)), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—

(1) in paragraph (81), by striking “and” at the end;

(2) in paragraph (82), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (82), the following:

“(83) provide that, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this paragraph, each State shall—

“(A) assess the extent to which entities such as providers of home care, home health services, home and community service providers, public authorities created to provide personal care services to individuals eligible for medical assistance under the State plan, and nonprofit organizations, are serving or have the capacity to serve as fiscal agents for, employers of, and providers of employment-related benefits for, personal care attendant workers who provide personal care services to individuals receiving benefits under the CLASS program established under title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act, including in rural and underserved areas;

“(B) designate or create such entities to serve as fiscal agents for, employers of, and providers of employment-related benefits for, such workers to ensure an adequate supply of the workers for individuals receiving benefits under the CLASS program, including in rural and underserved areas; and

“(C) ensure that the designation or creation of such entities will not negatively alter or impede existing programs, models, methods, or administration of service delivery that provide for consumer controlled or self-directed home and community services and further ensure that such entities will not impede the ability of individuals to direct and control their home and community services, including the ability to select, manage, dismiss, co-employ, or employ such workers or inhibit such individuals from relying on family members for the provision of personal care services.”.

(c) Inclusion of information on supplemental coverage in the national clearinghouse for long-term care information; extension of funding.—Section 6021(d) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 1396p note) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (2)(A)—

(A) in clause (ii), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(iv) include information regarding the CLASS program established under title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act.”; and

(2) in paragraph (3)—

(A) by striking “2010” and inserting “2015”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following: “In addition to the amount appropriated under the previous sentence, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013.”.

(d) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section take effect on January 1, 2011.