II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1653 

To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to enhance access 

for independent agents and brokers to information regarding marketplace 

enrollment. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2015 

Mr. CASSIDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

to enhance access for independent agents and brokers 

to information regarding marketplace enrollment. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equalizing the Playing 

5 Field for Agents and Brokers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ENHANCING ACCESS FOR INDEPENDENT AGENTS 

7 AND BROKERS. 

8 (a) AGENT AND BROKER AND CONSUMER SUPPORT

9 LINE.—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:12 Jun 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1653.IS S1653

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•S 1653 IS

1 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services shall establish a dedicated toll-free customer serv3 ice support help line to enable certified health insurance 

4 agents and brokers to seek assistance regarding qualified 

5 health plans offered in the Federal health insurance mar6 ketplace. 

7 (b) NATIONAL PRODUCER NUMBER.—Section 

8 1312(e) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 18032(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

11 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively and redes12 ignating the margins accordingly; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) LIST OF AGENTS AND BROKERS.—Not 

18 later than 14 days after the date of the enactment 

19 of this paragraph, the Secretary shall make available 

20 on the Internet website maintained by the Federal 

21 Government for health insurance coverage 

22 (healthcare.gov or any subsequent Internet site (or 

23 sites) that is established in whole or in part by the 

24 Federal Government to facilitate enrollment in quali25 fied health plans, the receipt of tax credits or cost 


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1 sharing reduction assistance, or comparisons of 

2 available qualified health plans) a list of all agents 

3 and brokers who have been trained and are currently 

4 certified by the Federal Exchange, including their 

5 name and National Producer number and if avail6 able their business address, electronic mail address, 

7 website, and phone number. The Secretary shall 

8 enter into a contract with the National Insurance 

9 Producers Registry to regularly verify, at least on a 

10 monthly basis, the licensure status of all agents and 

11 brokers who have been trained and are currently cer12 tified by the Federal Exchange and a mechanism 

13 shall be developed and made accessible to all cer14 tified agents and brokers to enable such agents and 

15 brokers to submit any changes to their contact and 

16 licensure information to the Secretary so that such 

17 website updates contain accurate agent and broker 

18 contact information. 

19 ‘‘(3) NEW INFORMATION DISCLOSURE.—Not 

20 later than 5 business days after the promulgation of 

21 any new regulation, or issuance of any guidance, 

22 technical letter, or other official policy statement 

23 that impacts the enrollment of individuals in quali24 fied health plans, the receipt of tax credits or cost 

25 sharing reduction assistance, or comparisons of 


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1 available qualified health plans, the Secretary shall 

2 provide all navigators (under section 1311(i)), 

3 agents, and brokers who have been trained and are 

4 currently certified by the Federal Exchange with a 

5 clear description of such policy changes, including 

6 specific practical guidance as to how certified navi7 gators, agents, and brokers can best assist their cli8 ents and help clients take advantage of any such pol9 icy changes.’’. 

Æ 


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