I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 18
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish additional 
provisions to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within the Medicare Pro-
gram, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2003
Mrs. BIGGERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Energy 
and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined 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 XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish 
additional provisions to combat waste, fraud, and abuse 
within the Medicare Program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Medicare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Act of 
2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Site inspections and background checks. 
Sec. 3. Registration of billing agencies. 
Sec. 4. Expanded access to the health integrity protection database (HIPDB). 
Sec. 5. Liability of medicare carriers and fiscal intermediaries for claims sub-
mitted by excluded providers. 
Sec. 6. Community mental health centers. 
Sec. 7. Limiting the use of discharge in bankruptcy proceedings for provider li-
ability for health care fraud. 
Sec. 8. Illegal distribution of a medicare or medicaid beneficiary identification 
or provider number. 
Sec. 9. Treatment of certain Social Security Act crimes as Federal health care 
offenses. 
Sec. 10. Authority of Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health 
and Human Services. 
Sec. 11. Universal product numbers on claims forms for reimbursement under 
the medicare program.
SEC. 2. SITE INSPECTIONS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS. 
(a) SITE INSPECTIONS FOR DME SUPPLIERS, COM-
MUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, AND OTHER PRO-
VIDER GROUPS.—Title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘SITE INSPECTIONS FOR DME SUPPLIERS, COMMUNITY 
MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, AND OTHER PROVIDER 
GROUPS 
‘‘SEC. 1897. (a) SITE INSPECTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con-
duct a site inspection for each applicable provider 
(as defined in paragraph (2)) that applies for a pro-
vider number in order to provide items or services 
under this title. Such site inspection shall be in addi-
tion to any other site inspection that the Secretary
would otherwise conduct with regard to an applica-
ble provider. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PROVIDER DEFINED.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), in this section the term ‘ap-
plicable provider’ means—
‘‘(i) a supplier of durable medical 
equipment (including items described in 
section 1834(a)(13)); 
‘‘(ii) 
a 
supplier 
of 
prosthetics, 
orthotics, or supplies (including items de-
scribed in paragraphs (8) and (9) of sec-
tion 1861(s)); 
‘‘(iii) a community mental health cen-
ter; or 
‘‘(iv) any other provider group, as de-
termined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In this section, the 
term ‘applicable provider’ does not include—
‘‘(i) a physician that provides durable 
medical equipment (as described in sub-
paragraph (A)(i)) or prosthetics, orthotics, 
or supplies (as described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii)) to an individual as incident to an 
office visit by such individual; or
conduct a background check on any individual or entity 
that applies to the Secretary for a provider number for 
the purpose of furnishing any item or service under this
title. In performing the background check, the Secretary 
shall—
‘‘(1) conduct the background check before 
issuing a provider number to an individual or entity; 
‘‘(2) include a search of criminal records in the 
background check; and 
‘‘(3) provide for procedures that ensure the 
background check does not unreasonably delay the 
issuance of a provider number to an eligible indi-
vidual or entity. 
‘‘(b) USE OF STATE LICENSING PROCEDURE.—The 
Secretary may use the results of a State licensing proce-
dure as a background check under subsection (a) if the 
State licensing procedure meets the requirements of sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(c) ATTORNEY GENERAL REQUIRED TO PROVIDE 
INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Sec-
retary, the Attorney General shall provide the crimi-
nal background check information referred to in sub-
section (a)(2) to the Secretary.
‘‘(2) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED IN-
FORMATION.—The Secretary may only use the infor-
mation disclosed under subsection (a) for the pur-
pose of carrying out the Secretary’s responsibilities 
under this title. 
‘‘(d) REFUSAL TO ISSUE PROVIDER NUMBER.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In addition to any other 
remedy available to the Secretary, the Secretary may 
refuse to issue a provider number to an individual 
or entity if the Secretary determines, after a back-
ground check conducted under this section, that 
such individual or entity has a history of acts that 
indicate issuance of a provider number to such indi-
vidual or entity would be detrimental to the best in-
terests of the program or program beneficiaries. 
Such acts may include, but are not limited to—
‘‘(A) any bankruptcy; 
‘‘(B) any act resulting in a civil judgment 
against such individual or entity; or 
‘‘(C) any felony conviction under Federal 
or State law. 
‘‘(2) REPORTING OF REFUSAL TO ISSUE PRO-
VIDER NUMBER TO THE HEALTH INTEGRITY PRO-
TECTION
DATABASE
(HIPDB).—A determination to 
refuse to issue a provider number to an individual
or entity as a result of a background check con-
ducted under this section shall be reported to the 
health integrity protection database established 
under section 1128E in accordance with the proce-
dures for reporting final adverse actions taken 
against a health care provider, supplier, or practi-
tioner under that section.’’. 
(c) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary to implement the 
amendments made by subsections (a) and (b). 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to applications 
received by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services on or after January 1, 2004. 
(d) USE
OF
MEDICARE
INTEGRITY
PROGRAM 
FUNDS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
may use funds appropriated or transferred for purposes 
of carrying out the medicare integrity program established 
under section 1893 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395ddd) to carry out the provisions of sections 1897 and 
1898 of that Act (as added by subsections (a) and (b)).
SEC. 3. REGISTRATION OF BILLING AGENCIES. 
(a) REGISTRATION OF BILLING AGENCIES AND INDI-
VIDUALS.—Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) (as amended by section 2(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘REGISTRATION OF BILLING AGENCIES AND INDIVIDUALS 
‘‘SEC. 1899. (a) REGISTRATION.—The Secretary 
shall establish procedures for the registration of all appli-
cable persons. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRED APPLICATION.—Each applicable per-
son shall submit a registration application to the Secretary 
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(c) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—If the Secretary ap-
proves an application submitted under subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall assign a unique identification number to 
the applicable person. 
‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT.—Every claim for reimburse-
ment under this title that is compiled and submitted by 
an applicable person shall contain the identification num-
ber that is assigned to the applicable person pursuant to 
subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) TIMELY REVIEW.—The Secretary shall provide 
for procedures that ensure the timely consideration and 
determination regarding approval of applications under 
this section.
‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF APPLICABLE PERSON.—In this 
section, the term ‘applicable person’ means an individual 
or an entity that compiles and submits claims for reim-
bursement under this title to the Secretary on behalf of 
any individual or entity.’’. 
(b) PERMISSIVE EXCLUSION.—Section 1128(b) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7(b)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(16) FRAUD BY APPLICABLE PERSON.—An ap-
plicable person (as defined in section 1899(f)) that 
the Secretary determines knowingly submitted or 
caused to be submitted a claim for reimbursement 
under title XVIII that the applicable person knows 
or should know is false or fraudulent.’’. 
(c) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary to implement the 
amendment made by subsections (a) and (b). 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on Janu-
ary 1, 2004.
SEC. 4. EXPANDED ACCESS TO THE HEALTH INTEGRITY 
PROTECTION DATABASE (HIPDB). 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1128E(d)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7e(d)(1)) is amended to 
read as follows:
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—The information in the 
database maintained under this section shall be 
available to—
‘‘(A) Federal and State government agen-
cies and health plans, and any health care pro-
vider, supplier, or practitioner entering an em-
ployment or contractual relationship with an in-
dividual or entity who could potentially be the 
subject of a final adverse action, where the con-
tract involves the furnishing of items or services 
reimbursed by 1 or more Federal health care 
programs (regardless of whether the individual 
or entity is paid by the programs directly, or 
whether the items or services are reimbursed di-
rectly or indirectly through the claims of a di-
rect provider); and 
‘‘(B) utilization and quality control peer 
review organizations and accreditation entities 
as defined by the Secretary, including but not 
limited to organizations described in part B of 
this title and in section 1154(a)(4)(C).’’.
(b) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF INFORMA-
TION.—Section 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–7b(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) Whoever knowingly uses information maintained 
in the health integrity protection database maintained in 
accordance with section 1128E for a purpose other than 
a purpose authorized under that section shall be impris-
oned for not more than 3 years or fined under title 18, 
United States Code, or both.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 5. LIABILITY OF MEDICARE CARRIERS AND FISCAL 
INTERMEDIARIES FOR CLAIMS SUBMITTED 
BY EXCLUDED PROVIDERS. 
(a) REIMBURSEMENT
TO
THE
SECRETARY
FOR 
AMOUNTS PAID TO EXCLUDED PROVIDERS.—
(1) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
FISCAL
INTER-
MEDIARIES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1816 of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395h) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(m) An agreement with an agency or organization 
under this section shall require that such agency or orga-
nization reimburse the Secretary for any amounts paid by 
the agency or organization for a service under this title 
which is furnished by an individual or entity during any 
period for which the individual or entity is excluded, pur-
suant to section 1128, 1128A, or 1156, from participation 
in the health care program under this title if the amounts 
are paid after the 60-day period beginning on the date 
the Secretary provides notice of the exclusion to the agen-
cy or organization, unless the payment was made as a re-
sult of incorrect information provided by the Secretary or 
the individual or entity excluded from participation has 
concealed or altered their identity.’’. 
(B) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
1816(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395h(i)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
prohibit reimbursement by an agency or organization pur-
suant to subsection (m).’’. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CARRIERS.—Section 
1842(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395u(b)(3)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (I); and
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the 
following: 
‘‘(J) will reimburse the Secretary for any 
amounts paid by the carrier for an item or service 
under this part which is furnished by an individual 
or entity during any period for which the individual 
or entity is excluded, pursuant to section 1128, 
1128A, or 1156, from participation in the health 
care program under this title if the amounts are 
paid after the 60-day period beginning on the date 
the Secretary provides notice of the exclusion to the 
carrier, unless the payment was made as a result of 
incorrect information provided by the Secretary or 
the individual or entity excluded from participation 
has concealed or altered their identity; and’’. 
(b) CONFORMING REPEAL OF MANDATORY PAYMENT 
RULE.—Section 1862(e) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395y(e)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘and when 
the person’’ and all that follows through ‘‘person)’’; 
and 
(2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(2) No individual or entity may bill (or collect any 
amount from) any individual for any item or service for
which payment is denied under paragraph (1). No indi-
vidual is liable for payment of any amounts billed for such 
an item or service in violation of the preceding sentence.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to claims for payment sub-
mitted on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(2) CONTRACT MODIFICATION.—The Secretary 
of Health and Human Services shall take such steps 
as may be necessary to modify contracts and agree-
ments entered into, renewed, or extended prior to 
the date of enactment of this Act to conform such 
contracts or agreements to the provisions of this sec-
tion. 
SEC. 6. COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861(ff)(3)(B) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ff)(3)(B)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘entity that—’’ and all that follows and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘entity that—
‘‘(i) provides the community mental health serv-
ices specified in paragraph (1) of section 1913(c) of 
the Public Health Service Act; 
‘‘(ii) meets applicable certification or licensing 
requirements for community mental health centers 
in the State in which it is located;
‘‘(iii) provides a significant share of its services 
to individuals who are not eligible for benefits under 
this title; and
‘‘(iv) meets such additional standards or re-
quirements for obtaining medicare billing privileges 
as the Secretary may specify to ensure—
‘‘(I) the health and safety of beneficiaries 
receiving such services; or 
‘‘(II) the furnishing of such services in an 
effective and efficient manner.’’. 
(b) RESTRICTION.—Section 1861(ff)(3)(A) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ff)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘other than in an individual’s home or in an inpatient or 
residential setting’’ before the period. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to items and services furnished 
after the sixth month that begins after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. LIMITING THE DISCHARGE OF DEBTS IN BANK-
RUPTCY PROCEEDINGS IN CASES WHERE A 
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER OR A SUPPLIER EN-
GAGES IN FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) CIVIL
MONETARY
PENALTIES.—Section 
1128A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1320a–7a(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, amounts made payable under this section are 
not dischargeable under section 727, 944, 1141, 
1228, or 1328 of title 11, United States Code, or 
any other provision of such title.’’. 
(2) RECOVERY
OF
OVERPAYMENT
TO
PRO-
VIDERS
OF
SERVICES
UNDER
PART
A
OF
MEDI-
CARE.—Section 1815(d) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395g(d)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
amounts due to the Secretary under this section are not 
dischargeable under section 727, 944, 1141, 1228, or 
1328 of title 11, United States Code, or any other provi-
sion of such title if the overpayment was the result of 
fraudulent activity, as may be defined by the Secretary.’’. 
(3) RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENT OF BENEFITS 
UNDER PART B OF MEDICARE.—Section 1833(j) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395l(j)) is 
amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(j)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
amounts due to the Secretary under this section are not 
dischargeable under section 727, 944, 1141, 1228, or 
1328 of title 11, United States Code, or any other provi-
sion of such title if the overpayment was the result of 
fraudulent activity, as may be defined by the Secretary.’’. 
(4) COLLECTION
OF
PAST-DUE
OBLIGATIONS 
ARISING FROM BREACH OF SCHOLARSHIP AND LOAN 
CONTRACT.—Section 1892(a) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ccc(a)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, amounts due to the Secretary under this section 
are not dischargeable under section 727, 944, 1141, 
1228, or 1328 of title 11, United States Code, or 
any other provision of such title.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to bankruptcy petitions filed 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 8. ILLEGAL DISTRIBUTION OF A MEDICARE OR MED-
ICAID 
BENEFICIARY 
IDENTIFICATION 
OR 
PROVIDER NUMBER. 
Section 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–7b(b)), as amended by section 4(b), is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) Whoever knowingly, intentionally, and with the 
intent to defraud purchases, sells or distributes, or ar-
ranges for the purchase, sale, or distribution of 2 or more 
medicare or medicaid beneficiary identification numbers or 
provider numbers shall be imprisoned for not more than 
3 years or fined under title 18, United States Code (or, 
if greater, an amount equal to the monetary loss to the 
Federal and any State government as a result of such 
acts), or both.’’. 
SEC. 9. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 
CRIMES AS FEDERAL HEALTH CARE OF-
FENSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) section 1128B of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1320a–7b).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act and apply to acts committed on or after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 10. AUTHORITY OF OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 
OF 
THE 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
HEALTH 
AND 
HUMAN SERVICES. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, upon designation by the Inspector General of 
the Department of Health and Human Services, any 
criminal investigator of the Office of Inspector General of 
such department may, in accordance with guidelines 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
and approved by the Attorney General, while engaged in 
activities within the lawful jurisdiction of such Inspector 
General—
(1) obtain and execute any warrant or other 
process issued under the authority of the United 
States; 
(2) make an arrest without a warrant for—
(A) any offense against the United States 
committed in the presence of such investigator; 
or 
(B) any felony offense against the United 
States, if such investigator has reasonable cause 
to believe that the person to be arrested has 
committed or is committing that felony offense; 
and
(3) exercise any other authority necessary to 
carry out the authority described in paragraphs (1) 
and (2). 
(b) FUNDS.—The Office of Inspector General of the 
Department of Health and Human Services may receive 
and expend funds that represent the equitable share from 
the forfeiture of property in investigations in which the 
Office of Inspector General participated, and that are 
transferred to the Office of Inspector General by the De-
partment of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, or 
the United States Postal Service. Such equitable sharing 
funds shall be deposited in a separate account and shall 
remain available until expended. 
SEC. 11. UNIVERSAL PRODUCT NUMBERS ON CLAIMS 
FORMS FOR REIMBURSEMENT UNDER THE 
MEDICARE PROGRAM. 
(a) UPNS ON CLAIMS FORMS FOR REIMBURSEMENT 
UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.—
(1) ACCOMMODATION OF UPNS ON MEDICARE 
CLAIMS FORMS.—Not later than February 1, 2005, 
all claims forms developed or used by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services for reimbursement 
under the medicare program under title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) shall
accommodate the use of universal product numbers 
for a UPN covered item. 
(2) REQUIREMENT FOR PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—
Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘USE OF UNIVERSAL PRODUCT NUMBERS 
‘‘SEC. 1899A. (a) IN GENERAL.—No payment shall 
be made under this title for any claim for reimbursement 
for any UPN covered item unless the claim contains the 
universal product number of the UPN covered item. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) UPN COVERED ITEM.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the term ‘UPN covered 
item’ means—
‘‘(i) a covered item as that term is de-
fined in section 1834(a)(13); 
‘‘(ii) an item described in paragraph 
(8) or (9) of section 1861(s); 
‘‘(iii) an item described in paragraph 
(5) of section 1861(s); and 
‘‘(iv) any other item for which pay-
ment is made under this title that the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate.
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘UPN cov-
ered item’ does not include a customized item 
for which payment is made under this title. 
‘‘(2) 
UNIVERSAL
PRODUCT
NUMBER.—The 
term ‘universal product number’ means a number 
that is—
‘‘(A) affixed by the manufacturer to each 
individual UPN covered item that uniquely 
identifies the item at each packaging level; and 
‘‘(B) based on commercially acceptable 
identification standards such as, but not limited 
to, standards established by the Uniform Code 
Council-International Article Numbering Sys-
tem or the Health Industry Business Commu-
nication Council.’’. 
(3) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 
PROCEDURES.—
(A) INFORMATION
INCLUDED
IN
UPN.—
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
in consultation with manufacturers and entities 
with appropriate expertise, shall determine the 
relevant descriptive information appropriate for 
inclusion in a universal product number for a 
UPN covered item.
(B) REVIEW OF PROCEDURE.—From the 
information obtained by the use of universal 
product numbers on claims for reimbursement 
under the medicare program, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, in consultation 
with interested parties, shall periodically review 
the UPN covered items billed under the Health 
Care Financing Administration Common Proce-
dure Coding System and adjust such coding 
system to ensure that functionally equivalent 
UPN covered items are billed and reimbursed 
under the same codes. 
(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (2) shall apply to claims for reim-
bursement submitted on and after February 1, 
2005. 
(b) STUDY AND REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
(1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall conduct a study on the results 
of the implementation of the provisions in paragraph 
(1) and (3) of subsection (a) and the amendment to 
the Social Security Act in paragraph (2) of that sub-
section. 
(2) REPORTS.—
(A) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 6 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall submit a report to Congress that contains 
a detailed description of the progress of the 
matters studied pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(B) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall sub-
mit a report to Congress that contains a de-
tailed description of the results of the study 
conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), together 
with the Secretary’s recommendations regard-
ing the use of universal product numbers and 
the use of data obtained from the use of such 
numbers. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) UPN COVERED
ITEM.—The term ‘‘UPN 
covered item’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 1899A(b)(1) of the Social Security Act (as 
added by subsection (a)(2)). 
(2) UNIVERSAL PRODUCT NUMBER.—The term 
‘‘universal product number’’ has the meaning given
such term in section 1899A(b)(2) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (as added by subsection (a)(2)). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for the purpose of carrying out the provisions 
in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (a), subsection 
(b), and section 1899A of the Social Security Act (as 
added by subsection (a)(2)).
Æ