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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5853 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5853

To amend title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act to require review 
  and approval by law prior to collection of premiums under the CLASS 
 program, to require notice to individuals prior to enrollment, and to 
     require termination of the program in the event of actuarial 
                  unsoundness, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2010

 Mr. Boustany introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Rules, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To amend title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act to require review 
  and approval by law prior to collection of premiums under the CLASS 
 program, to require notice to individuals prior to enrollment, and to 
     require termination of the program in the event of actuarial 
                  unsoundness, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement 
Security Act''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY LAW OF DESIGNATION OF CLASS INDEPENDENCE 
              BENEFIT PLAN.

    Title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act, as added by section 
8002(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 
111-148), is amended--
            (1) in section 3203(a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), in the second sentence, by 
                inserting ``and shall submit to Congress a report 
                containing such designation, details, and reasons'' 
                after ``public comment''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(4) Approval by law of designation.--No premiums may be 
        deducted from an individual's wages or otherwise collected 
        under section 3204(e) unless there is enacted into law, in 
        accordance with section 3211(a), a joint resolution approving 
        the designation of the CLASS Independence Benefit Plan by the 
        Secretary under paragraph (3).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 3211. PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL BY LAW OF DESIGNATION 
              OF CLASS INDEPENDENCE BENEFIT PLAN.

    ``(a) In General.--For purposes of paragraph (4) of section 
3203(a), the following shall apply:
            ``(1) Receipt of reports.--It shall not be in order in the 
        Senate or in the House of Representatives to consider a joint 
        resolution described in such paragraph unless the Senate or the 
        House of Representatives, respectively, has received, not fewer 
        than 60 days prior to such consideration--
                    ``(A) the report of the Secretary described in 
                section 3203(a)(3); and
                    ``(B) the report of the Chief Actuary of the 
                Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services described in 
                paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Report of cms chief actuary.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the Secretary designates the CLASS Independence Benefit 
        Plan under section 3203(a)(3), the Chief Actuary of the Centers 
        for Medicare & Medicaid Services shall submit to Congress a 
        report on the long-term actuarial soundness of the CLASS 
        Independence Benefit Plan. Such report shall include--
                    ``(A) an estimate of the average premium per 
                enrollee per year that will be required to ensure that 
                the CLASS Independence Fund will be actuarially sound 
                over the 75-year period beginning with the fiscal year 
                in which such report is submitted; and
                    ``(B) an estimate of the average amount of benefits 
                that will be paid per enrollee per year over such 
                period.
            ``(3) Joint resolution defined.--The term `joint 
        resolution' means only a joint resolution, the matter after the 
        resolving clause of which is as follows: `That Congress 
        approves of the CLASS Independence Benefit Plan designated by 
        the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 
        3203(a)(3) of the Public Health Service Act.'. Such term does 
        not include a resolution that specifies more than one action.
    ``(b) Exercise of the Rulemaking Power of Each House.--Subsection 
(a) is enacted by Congress--
            ``(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
        and the House of Representatives, respectively, and is deemed 
        to be part of the rules of each House, respectively, but 
        applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in 
        that House in the case of a joint resolution under such 
        subsection, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent 
        that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
            ``(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
        either House to change the rules (so far as they relate to the 
        procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
        to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
        House.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED NOTICE PRIOR TO ENROLLMENT.

    Section 3204(a) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by 
section 8002(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
(Public Law 111-148), is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
            ``(4) Required notice prior to enrollment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An employer may not enroll an 
                employee in the CLASS program under paragraph (1) 
                unless, prior to enrolling the employee, the employer--
                            ``(i) has provided to the employee the 
                        exact statements described in subparagraph (C) 
                        in a single written notice that displays such 
                        statements in the order in which they are set 
                        forth in such subparagraph; and
                            ``(ii) certifies to the Secretary that the 
                        individual has received such notice.
                    ``(B) Enrollment other than by employer.--In the 
                case of an individual seeking to enroll in the CLASS 
                program other than through enrollment by the 
                individual's employer under paragraph (1), the 
                Secretary shall not permit the individual to enroll 
                unless, prior to the individual's enrollment, the 
                Secretary has provided to the individual the exact 
                statements described in subparagraph (C) in a single 
                written notice that displays such statements in the 
                order in which they are set forth in such subparagraph 
                and the individual has acknowledged in writing the 
                receipt of such notice.
                    ``(C) Statements described.--The statements 
                described in this subparagraph are the following:
                            ``(i) The Chief Actuary of the Centers for 
                        Medicare & Medicaid Services made the following 
                        assessment in April 2010 regarding the CLASS 
                        program: `In general, voluntary, unsubsidized, 
                        and non-underwritten insurance programs such as 
                        CLASS face a significant risk of failure as a 
                        result of adverse selection by participants. 
                        Individuals with health problems or who 
                        anticipate a greater risk of functional 
                        limitation would be more likely to participate 
                        than those in better-than-average health. . . . 
                        [T]here is a very serious risk that the problem 
                        of adverse selection will make the CLASS 
                        program unsustainable.'.
                            ``(ii) The Chief Actuary estimated in April 
                        2010 that the CLASS program will likely begin 
                        to run deficits in 2025 and continue to run 
                        deficits thereafter.
                            ``(iii) The Chief Actuary further estimated 
                        in April 2010 that an initial average premium 
                        level of about $240 per month would be required 
                        to adequately fund CLASS program costs.
                            ``(iv) The Federal Government will collect 
                        more than $70 billion in CLASS program premiums 
                        from 2012 through 2019, according to an 
                        estimate of the Congressional Budget Office in 
                        March 2010. Although these premiums are 
                        credited as IOUs or United States Government 
                        securities in a `CLASS Independence Fund,' the 
                        money, itself, is used to pay for other 
                        Government expenses, including other programs 
                        under the health care law enacted in March 2010 
                        that are unrelated to the CLASS program. There 
                        is no separate pool of money set aside to pay 
                        CLASS program benefits, and workers and 
                        retirees could be required to repay these IOUs 
                        in the form of higher taxes.
                            ``(v) Under section 3212 of the Public 
                        Health Service Act, the CLASS program will 
                        terminate immediately if an annual report of 
                        the Board of Trustees of the Class Independence 
                        Fund indicates that the CLASS program will not 
                        be actuarially sound over the 75-year period 
                        beginning with the fiscal year in which the 
                        report is submitted.''.

SEC. 4. NO COLLECTION OF PREMIUMS PENDING PROMULGATION OF FINAL 
              REGULATIONS.

    Section 3208(c) of the Public Health Service Act, as added by 
section 8002(a) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
(Public Law 111-148), is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(2) No collection of premiums pending promulgation of 
        final regulations.--No premiums may be deducted from an 
        individual's wages or otherwise collected under section 3204(e) 
        before the Secretary has promulgated, in final form--
                    ``(A) the regulations described in section 
                3202(6)(C);
                    ``(B) the rule described in section 3203(a)(3); and
                    ``(C) the regulations described in paragraph 
                (1).''.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM IF CLASS INDEPENDENCE FUND ACTUARIALLY 
              UNSOUND.

    Title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by section 
2, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 3212. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM IF CLASS INDEPENDENCE FUND 
              ACTUARIALLY UNSOUND.

    ``(a) In General.--If the Board of Trustees of the CLASS 
Independence Fund submits to Congress the report described in 
subsection (b) (relating to the actuarial unsoundness of the CLASS 
Independence Fund)--
            ``(1) no individual shall be enrolled under section 3204(a) 
        in the CLASS program after the date of the submission of the 
        report;
            ``(2) no premiums shall be deducted from an individual's 
        wages or otherwise collected under section 3204(e) after such 
        date;
            ``(3) no benefits shall be provided under section 3205(c) 
        after such date;
            ``(4) the Secretary shall refund any amount remaining in 
        the CLASS Independence Fund (established under section 3206(a)) 
        on such date, according to the process described in subsection 
        (c), and send notification to the Secretary of the Treasury 
        when the refund is complete;
            ``(5) in the case of notification under paragraph (4), the 
        CLASS Independence Fund and the Board of Trustees of the CLASS 
        Independence Fund (established under section 3206(c)(1)) shall 
        be abolished as of the date of such notification;
            ``(6) the CLASS Independence Advisory Council (established 
        under section 3207(a)) is abolished as of the date of the 
        submission of the report;
            ``(7) the Secretary shall take such other steps as the 
        Secretary considers necessary to terminate the CLASS program;
            ``(8) in lieu of the annual report required by section 
        3208(d), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a quarterly 
        report on the status of the termination of the CLASS program in 
        accordance with this section, until such time as the Secretary 
        indicates in such a report that the program has been completely 
        terminated; and
            ``(9) in lieu of the annual report required by section 
        3209, the Inspector General of the Department of Health and 
        Human Services shall submit to Congress a quarterly report on 
        the Secretary's progress in terminating the CLASS program in 
        accordance with this section, including the existence of any 
        waste, fraud, or abuse in connection with the termination 
        activities, until such time as the Inspector General indicates 
        in such a report that the program has been completely 
        terminated.
    ``(b) Report of Unsoundness.--The report described in this 
subsection is a report under subparagraph (A)(ii) of section 3206(c)(2) 
that contains a statement described in subparagraph (B)(i)(III) of such 
section that indicates that the CLASS Independence Fund is projected to 
be actuarially unsound over the 75-year period beginning with the 
fiscal year in which such report is submitted.
    ``(c) Refund of Amount in CLASS Independence Fund.--The refund 
process described in this subsection is the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the submission of the report described in subsection (b), 
        subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to each 
        individual enrolled in the CLASS program on the date of the 
        submission of such report an amount from the CLASS Independence 
        Fund equal to the difference of--
                    ``(A) the total amount such respective individual 
                paid in premiums as of such date under the CLASS 
                program; and
                    ``(B) the lesser of--
                            ``(i) the total amount of benefits 
                        described in section 3205(b) received as of 
                        such date by such individual under the program; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) the amount described in subparagraph 
                        (A).
            ``(2) Insufficient or excess funds.--
                    ``(A) Insufficient funds.--If the amount remaining 
                in the CLASS Independence Fund on the date of the 
                submission of the report described in subsection (b) is 
                insufficient to make the refund described in paragraph 
                (1), the Secretary shall pay to each individual 
                enrolled in the CLASS program on such date an amount 
                that bears the same ratio to the amount remaining in 
                the CLASS Independence Fund on such date as the amount 
                determined under such paragraph for such respective 
                individual bears to the sum obtained by adding each 
                amount obtained by applying such paragraph to each such 
                individual.
                    ``(B) Excess funds.--If an amount remains in the 
                CLASS Independence Fund after the Secretary makes the 
                refund described in paragraph (1), such amount shall be 
                transferred to the general fund of the Treasury.
    ``(d) Funds in Life Independence Accounts Retained by Enrollees.--
Notwithstanding the termination of the CLASS program under subsection 
(a), an individual who has funds remaining in a Life Independence 
Account established by the Secretary for such individual under 
subparagraph (A) of section 3205(c)(1) may continue to use such funds 
for the purposes described in subparagraph (B) of such section.''.

SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Title XXXII of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by 
sections 2 and 5, is further amended--
            (1) in section 3204--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``paragraph 
                (2)'' and inserting ``paragraphs (2) and (4)''; and
                    (B) in subsection (e)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``An 
                        amount'' and inserting ``Subject to sections 
                        3203(a)(4), 3208(c)(2), and 3212(a)(2), an 
                        amount''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The 
                        Secretary'' and inserting ``Subject to sections 
                        3203(a)(4), 3208(c)(2), and 3212(a)(2), the 
                        Secretary'';
            (2) in section 3208(d), in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``Beginning January 1'' and inserting ``Subject to section 
        3212(a)(8), beginning January 1''; and
            (3) in section 3209, in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``The Inspector General'' and inserting ``Subject to section 
        3212(a)(9), the Inspector General''.
                                 <all>
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