BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION for BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION

Health Issues HCR

See attached addendum for General Lobbying Issue Area: HCR - HealthcareAffordable Private Health Care: Effect of the Health Insurance Tax, defined Essential Health Benefits, and Age Rating on premiums; Healthcare Delivery System Reforms State-based regulation: State Oversight of Rates; Properly designed state based health insurance exchanges to improve competition and maximize choice; federal exchanges; Multi-State Health Plans; Centralized All-Payer Database Medical Loss Ratios: Level Playing Field for MLRs; Consistent reporting requirements for all insurers; MLR Broker Fees: Health Care Quality: Delivery System Incentives to Promote Better Care; Payment Reforms; Patient-centered Primary Care/Medical Home; Evidence Based Care; Wellness; Chronic Care Management Insurance Market Reform; Individual Market Reform; Small Group Market Reform; Guaranteed Issue; Community Rating; Age Rating; Health Savings Accounts Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) regarding proposals to allow additional types of carriers including regional PPOs to be included in the coverage options offered by OPM FEHBP Modernization Act circulation draft President's budget, regional PPOs, government contributions HR 2667 Introduced by Griffin (R-AR) on July 11, 2013 Authority for Mandate Delay Act HR 2668 Introduced by Young (R-IN) on July 17, 2013 Fairness for Families Act Bailouts for Insurance Companies, S. 1726, H.R. 3541, 3812, 3851 HR 2328 Introduced in House June 12, 2013 Rep. Rogers, Mike J. (R-MI) Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to exclude remuneration paid for licensed independent insurance producers from administrative cost calculations for purposes of calculating the medical-loss ratio of a health insurance plan. HR 3541 introduced by Tim Griffin November 19,2013 Obamacare Taxpayer Bailout Prevention Act - Repeals the provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and administer a program of risk corridors for calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016 under which a qualified health plan offered in the individual or small group market is required to participate in a payment adjustment system based on the ratio of the allowable costs of the plan to the plan's aggregate premiums. Other general Affordable Care Act topics related to multiple parts of legislation: Delay of Individual Mandate; ACA Implementation; Multi-State Plan Program Implementation; Risk Corridors and Risk Mitigation; Reinsurance; Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) implementation See following pages on Health Care Reform issuesS. 1486 Introduced August 1, 2013 by Sen. Carper, Thomas R. (D-DE) Postal Reform Act of 2013 - Amends provisions of federal law relating to the funding of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) retirement and health care systems, operations, revenue, and governance.. Section 104 Substitute Amendment. HR 3362 Introduced October 29,2013 by Rep. Terry, Lee (R-NE) Exchange Information Disclosure Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to expand reporting requirements related to health care exchanges. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish reports weekly through March 31, 2015, on: (1) consumer interactions with healthcare.gov or subsequent sites and any efforts undertaken to remedy problems that impact taxpayers and consumers, (2) calls to the federal customer service call center, including the number of calls received by the call center, problems identified by users, and referrals of those calls; (3) all navigators and certified application counselors that have been trained and certified by health care exchanges; and (4) all agents and brokers who have been trained and certified by the federal health care exchange. HR 762 Introduced in House February 15, 2013 by Rep. Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN) Health Care Choice Act of 2013 - Repeals the health insurance and health coverage expansion requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and related requirements of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Restores provisions of law amended or repealed by such provisions. HR 1701 Introduced April 24, 2013 by Ted Poe (R-TX) Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from implementing, administering, or enforcing specified regulations insofar as they would replace International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 with ICD-10 as a standard for code sets for appropriate data elements for financial and administrative transactions involving the electronic exchange of health information.

Contacted: Office of Personnel Management (OPM); SENATE; Treasury, Dept of; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; White House Office; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Bills named: H.R. 2328 (113th), S. 1726 (113th), H.R. 3541 (113th), H.R. 3362 (113th), H.R. 1701 (113th), H.R. 2667 (113th), H.R. 2668 (113th), H.R. 762 (113th)

Pharmacy PHA

No pharmacy lobbying activity reported during the 1st quarter.

Contacted: Treasury, Dept of; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; White House Office; Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Office of Management & Budget (OMB); SENATE; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX

IRC section 833(b) tax provisions; Health Spending Accounts; Medical Loss Ratio definition to qualify for 833(b) tax deduction; Health Insurance Tax: Health Insurance Excise Tax, S. 603/HR 763, HR 3367

Contacted: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Treasury, Dept of; White House Office; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); SENATE; Office of Management & Budget (OMB)

Bills named: S. 603 (113th), H.R. 3367 (113th), H.R. 763 (113th)

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

Medicare Reforms: Medicare A & B; Delivery System Reforms, Benefit Restructuring ; Medigap first-dollar coverage; Quality Initiatives/SGR Reform, HIPAA Code Adoption Process, Medicare Advantage Risk Delay Part D Cuts, HR 2810 Introduced by Burgess (R-TX) on July 31, 2013 Multi-State Plan Programs, Medicare Patient Access and Quality Improvement Act of 2013, Medicare Prescription Drug Integrity.

Contacted: HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Office of Management & Budget (OMB); SENATE; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); White House Office; Treasury, Dept of; Office of Personnel Management (OPM); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Bills named: H.R. 2810 (113th)