Topic: Health — Health Care Reform
Subject: Health
Date: 2011-12-15 00:00:00

Patient Centered Healthcare Savings Act of 2011 - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of their enactment. Restores or revives provisions amended or repealed by such Act or such health care provisions. Sets conditions for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims regarding health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce. Establishes a statute of limitations and limits noneconomic and punitive damages. Directs that the laws of the state designated by a health insurance issuer (primary state) shall apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that issuer in the primary state and in any other state (secondary state), but only if the coverage and issuer comply with conditions of this Act. Revises provisions regarding the sharing of Medicare claims data for the purposes of analyzing cost and quality and improving transparency in the marketplace. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions related to health savings accounts (HSAs), including to expand eligibility for HSAs to Medicare Part A beneficiaries, veterans eligible for service-connected disability benefits, individuals eligible for Indian health service assistance, and individuals eligible to receive benefits under certain TRICARE plans. Amends the bankruptcy code to treat HSAs as tax-exempt individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for purposes of exempting them from creditor claims. Reauthorizes the use of Medicaid health opportunity accounts. Requires each state to mitigate the cost of high risk individuals in the state through a state reinsurance program or a state high risk pool. Removes the prohibition on preexisting condition exclusions in the individual health insurance market. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to pay awards to states for reducing the premiums in the small group market or the individual market or for reducing the percentage of uninsured, nonelderly residents in a state. Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2011 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for establishment and governance of association health plans, which are group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations and which meet certain ERISA certification requirements. Amends ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require group health plans that provide dependent coverage of children to treat an individual as a dependent until at least 23 years (currently, 26 years) of age. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase civil money penalties, criminal fines, and prison sentences for fraud and abuse under the Medicare program. Exempts certain provisions from the repeal of PPACA under this Act, including provisions relating to physician-owned hospitals and background checks of employees of long-term care facilities and providers. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to establish a plan to require liability insurance (including self-insurance), no fault insurance, and workers' compensation laws and plans to meet the determination and submission requirements for Medicare secondary payers.