Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act
Latest action · Dec 8, 2009 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 6, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act - Requires each state to mitigate the cost of high risk individuals in the state through: (1) a state reinsurance program; or (2) a state high risk pool.
Prohibits a health insurance issuer from applying an annual or lifetime aggregate spending cap on any health insurance coverage or plan offered by such issuer.
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 reducing the percentage of uninsured, nonelderly residents in a state.
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 continue to treat an individual as a dependent until at least 25 years of age.
Prohibits a state from establishing a law that prevents an employer from instituting auto-enrollment for coverage under a group health plan, so long as the participant or beneficiary has the option of declining such coverage.
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 related to health savings accounts (HSAs), including to allow the payment of premiums for high deductible health plans from HSA accounts.
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.
Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship or the practice of medicine.
Repeals provisions establishing the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
Permits a group health plan to vary premiums and cost-sharing by up to 50% of the benefits based on participation (or lack of participation) in a wellness program.
Prohibits funds authorized or appropriated by federal law and funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law from being expended for any abortion.
Allows a person to submit an application for licensure of a biological product based on its similarity to a licensed biological product (the reference product).
Cosponsors 27
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 6, 2009 to Jul 14, 2010; 23 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-LA | Charles W. Boustany, Jr. | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-FL | Cliff Stearns | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-CA | David Dreier | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-WA | David G. Reichert | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-VA | Eric Cantor | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-KY | Geoff Davis | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-TX | Joe Barton | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-OH | John A. Boehner | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-MN | John Kline | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-GA | John Linder | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-TX | John R. Carter | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-TX | Kevin Brady | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-CA | Kevin McCarthy | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-IN | Mike Pence | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
| R-OH | Patrick J. Tiberi | Original | Nov 6, 2009 |
Committees 4
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Nov 6, 2009 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Nov 7, 2009 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Nov 6, 2009 |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Nov 6, 2009 |
| Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee | Referred Dec 8, 2009 | |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Nov 6, 2009 |
Actions 8
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 8, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
- Nov 7, 2009Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Nov 6, 2009Introduced in House
- Nov 6, 2009Referred to House Energy and Commerce
- Nov 6, 2009Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Nov 6, 2009Referred to House Ways and Means
- Nov 6, 2009Referred to House Education and Labor
- Nov 6, 2009Referred to House Judiciary
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Discharge petition H6995 | — | Sep 24, 2010 |
| House | Discharge petition H6628 | — | Aug 10, 2010 |
| House | Debate and remarks H12859, H12860, H12888 | Charles W. Boustany, Jr. R-LA, Geoff Davis R-KY, Leonard Lance R-NJ | Nov 7, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To take meaningful steps to lower health care costs and increase access to health insurance coverage without raising taxes, cutting Medicare benefits for seniors, adding to the national deficit, intervening in the doctor-patient relationship, or instituting a government takeover of health care.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Common Sense Health Care Reform and Affordability Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Abortion
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Advisory bodies
- Bankruptcy
- Civil actions and liability
- Consumer affairs
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Disability and health-based discrimination
- Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Family relationships
- Federal-Indian relations
- Government information and archives
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health care quality
- Health programs administration and funding
- Health promotion and preventive care
- Income tax credits
- Intellectual property
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Licensing and registrations
- Medicaid
- Medical research
- Medicare
- Small business
- State and local government operations
- State and local taxation
- User charges and fees
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 6, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
