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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, 2000.
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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
title XI and in section 1154(a)(4)(C).’’.
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(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-
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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 con-
strued to prohibit reimbursement by an agency or
organization pursuant 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
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(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
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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’’ and all that follows and inserting 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;
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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, 1141, 1228(a)
or (b), 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, 1141, 1228(a) or (b), 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:
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‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
amounts due to the Secretary under this section are not
dischargeable under section 727, 1141, 1228(a) or (b), 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, 1141,
1228(a) or (b), 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:
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‘‘(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.
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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
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(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, 2001,
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
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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.
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‘‘(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.
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(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,
2002.
(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.—
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(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
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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)).
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