Provide Accurate Information Directly Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1375) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for transparency of Medicare secondary payer reporting information, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1375

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 ``Provide Accurate Information Directly Act'' or ``PAID Act''. SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY OF MEDICARE SECONDARY PAYER REPORTING INFORMATION.

(a) In General.--Section 1862(b)(8)(G) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 395y(b)(8)(G)) is amended--

(1) by striking ``information.--The Secretary'' and inserting ``information.--

``(i) In general.--The Secretary''; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new clause:

``(ii) Specified information.--In responding to any query from an applicable plan related to a determination described in subparagraph (A)(i), the Secretary, notwithstanding any other provision of law, shall provide to such applicable plan--

``(I) whether a claimant subject to the query is, or during the preceding 3-year period has been, entitled to benefits under the program under this title on any basis; and

``(II) to the extent applicable, the plan name and address of any Medicare Advantage plan under part C and any prescription drug plan under part D in which the claimant is enrolled or has been enrolled during such period.''.

(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to queries from plans made on or after the date that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act. SEC. 3. DEPOSIT OF SAVINGS INTO MEDICARE IMPROVEMENT FUND.

Section 1898(b)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395iii(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``$0'' and inserting ``$30,000,000''. SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1375, the Provide Accurate Information Directly Act of 2019, as amended, or the PAID Act, improves financial accountability by strengthening reporting regarding Medicare Advantage enrollees between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, and liability and other nongroup health plans.

Similar measures are already in place for traditional Medicare. With one in three Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, it is time that we enact this measure to bring parity for the program. At its core, this is a good governance program, which will improve integrity overall, and that is always welcome.

I would like to especially thank our fellow Ways and Means Committee member Ron Kind, who has worked tirelessly at this to make sure that we corrected this anomaly in the legislation.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC, December 8, 2020. Hon. Richard Neal, Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal: I write concerning H.R. 1375, the PAID Act, which was additionally referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce (Committee).

In recognition of the desire to expedite consideration of H.R. 1375, the Committee agrees to waive formal consideration of the bill as to provisions that fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding that we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues within our jurisdiction. I also request that you support my request to name members of the Committee to any conference committee to consider such provisions.

Finally, I would appreciate the inclusion of this letter in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 1375. Sincerely, Frank Pallone, Jr., Chairman. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC, December 8, 2020. Hon. Frank Pallone, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Pallone: I am writing concerning H.R. 1375, the PAID Act, which as you are aware was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and additionally to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation and I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce under House Rule X. I acknowledge that your Committee will not consider H.R. 1375 and agree that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any further jurisdictional claim over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. I will also support the appointment of Committee on Energy and Commerce conferees during any House- Senate conference on this legislation.

I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work with you as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Richard E. Neal, Chairman.

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, again, I would like to thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, with a special thanks to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes) for his continued work on this.

Ron Kind from Wisconsin has been fighting for practical, commonsense legislation like this almost every day that he has been in Congress since I have known him. A true sign of a Harvard quarterback is that he continues to be persistent. I want to thank him again for his hard work.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1375, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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