Title: Commonsense Competition and Access to Health Insurance Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Commonsense Competition and Access to Health Insurance Act
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to permit states to enter into interstate health care choice compacts under which qualified health plans may be offered in the small group market in all participating states while being subject to the laws and regulations of only the state in which the plan was written or issued. (Currently, interstate health care choice compacts apply to only qualified health plans in the individual market.)
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must request that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) report on health plans provided for under interstate health care choice compacts. HHS may also request that the NAIC include in the report concepts gathered from entities that have experience in offering qualified health plans in states in which those plans were not originally issued.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1546 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1546

  To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide 
greater flexibility in offering health insurance coverage across State 
                                 lines.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2017

   Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Ms. Heitkamp, and Mr. King) 
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 provide 
greater flexibility in offering health insurance coverage across State 
                                 lines.

    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 ``Commonsense Competition and Access 
to Health Insurance Act''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE ACROSS STATE LINES.

    Section 1333(a)(1)(A) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act (42 U.S.C. 18053(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ``and small 
group markets'' after ``individual markets''.

SEC. 3. REPORT AND MODELS.

    Section 1333 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 
U.S.C. 18053) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) NAIC Report and Models.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 2018, the 
        Secretary shall request that the National Association of 
        Insurance Commissioners submit to the Secretary a report 
        concerning health plans provided for under this section. Such 
        report shall include--
                    ``(A) a description of the challenges that States 
                would face by permitting issuers of qualified health 
                plans to offer such plans in States other than those 
                States where such plan was originally written or 
                issued;
                    ``(B) an assessment of how an out-of-State insurer 
                would go about building an adequate provider network;
                    ``(C) a description of how such challenges could be 
                lessened without weakening the enforcement of laws and 
                regulations described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i) in any 
                State that is included in a compact under this section;
                    ``(D) a description of the commonalities that exist 
                in State laws and opportunities to allow issuers of 
                qualified health plans to offer such plans in States 
                other than those States where such plan was originally 
                written or issued; and
                    ``(E) models to be used by States to establish and 
                enter into interstate health care choice compacts under 
                this section, which--
                            ``(i) may include model legislation for use 
                        by States to enact laws to enter into such 
                        compacts;
                            ``(ii) shall identify how States would 
                        continue to enforce, and not weaken, the laws 
                        and regulations described in subsection 
                        (a)(1)(B)(i) in any State that is included in 
                        such compact; and
                            ``(iii) shall identify how such models 
                        would ensure that there is no violation of the 
                        conditions for Secretarial approval under 
                        subsection (a)(3).
            ``(2) Other organizations and entities.--In making the 
        request under paragraph (1), the Secretary may also request 
        that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners gather 
        concepts for inclusion in the report under such paragraph from 
        organizations and entities that have experience in offering 
        qualified health plans in States in which such plans were not 
        originally issued.''.
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