CHOICE Act

To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide a permanent path for the direct enrollment of individuals in qualified health plans. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Consumers Having Options in Choosing Enrollment Act CHOICE Act 2. Permanent Pathway for Direct Enrollment (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Successful implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (referred to in this section as the ACA (2) The ACA provided for the establishment of new State-based or, in the absence of State action, federally facilitated marketplaces to help connect consumers with health insurance options and coverage. (3) As part of the regulatory guidance related to the marketplaces, the Department of Health and Human Services provided consumers with an option to enroll in health insurance coverage directly, known as direct enrollment. (4) The Department of Health and Human Services also permits enrollment through an Exchange with the assistance of an agent or broker, including permitting consumers to select a product on the Internet website of an agent or broker. (5) Consumers should be permitted a permanent option to enroll directly with a qualified health plan issuer, or Internet website of an agent or broker, in a manner consistent with the marketplaces and as long as certain consumer protections are followed. (6) Consumers should continue to be informed that other health insurance products are available and offered. (7) Consumers should be notified of their eligibility determination for coverage through the Exchange Internet website for premium tax credits and cost sharing reductions. (8) Direct enrollment is not a new idea and has proven to work successfully in getting seniors coverage through the Medicare Advantage program and the Medicare Part D program. (9) Providing a permanent pathway for consumers to directly enroll with a qualified health plan issuer or the certified Internet website of an agent or broker gives such consumers another option to sign up for health insurance coverage and takes the United States one step closer to achieving the goals of the ACA. (b) Direct enrollment Section 1312 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18032 (g) Direct enrollment (1) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall issue guidelines and necessary operational specifications to provide for the establishment of a permanent pathway to enable individuals to enroll in qualified health plans through— (A) in the case of a State with a State-based Exchange, the Exchange, or if determined appropriate by the State, a health insurance issuer, a certified agent or broker, or a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certified Internet web-based broker or entity; or (B) in the case of a State with no State Exchange, the Federal Exchange, a health insurance issuer, an agent or broker certified by the Federal Exchange, or a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certified Internet web-based broker or entity. (2) Availability Guidelines and operational capabilities issued under paragraph (1) shall be available to consumers and applicable health insurance issuers and entities for any enrollment period required under section 1311(c)(6). .

Summary: Creating Hope and Opportunity for Individuals and Communities through Education Act or the CHOICE Act - Amends the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act to: (1) require the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to use funds appropriated under the Act that are carried over from one fiscal year to the next to provide opportunity scholarships to eligible students who have not yet received them; and (2) include among the eligibility criteria for such a scholarship a requirement that a student in the District of Columbia is enrolled, or will be enrolled for the next school year, in a public or private elementary or secondary school. (Opportunity scholarships are provided to low-income students in the District of Columbia to enable them to attend the District of Columbia private elementary or secondary school of their choice.) Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow states that have established a program allowing the parents of disabled children to use public or private funds to send their children to a private school to use their allocation of special education funds to supplement those funds. Authorizes grants for the improvement of special education services to be used for the planning, design, and initial implementation, during a period of up to three years, of state programs that allow the parents of a disabled child to make a genuine independent choice of the appropriate public or private school for their child. Sets forth requirements for those programs, including that they: (1) permit parents to receive state funds to pay some or all of the costs of their disabled child's attendance at the selected school, or (2) permit persons to receive a state tax credit for donations to an entity that provides funds to enable parents to pay some or all of the costs of their disabled child's attendance at that school. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to carry out a five-year pilot program to award scholarships to enable military dependent students who live on military installations to attend the public or private elementary or secondary schools their parents choose rather than those assigned to them. Requires the Secretary of Defense to select at least five military installations to participate in the program and choose those where military students would most benefit from expanded education options. Directs the Secretary of Defense to use a random process to select scholarship recipients if more students apply for the scholarships than can be accommodated. Requires the Secretary to return to the Treasury specified amounts made available for Department of Education salaries and expenses.