Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 523.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act
This bill modifies various health insurance programs related to consumer costs for private health insurance plans, Medicaid funding and eligibility, and prescription drug pricing. Specifically, the bill increases the amount and income thresholds for the premium assistance tax credit program and expands access to such tax credit for employees with employer-provided family plans that cost in excess of 9.5% of the employee's household income.
Further, the bill provides additional funding for states to establish health insurance exchanges and establishes the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund. States must use allocated funds to (1) issue reinsurance payments to health insurers (i.e., reimbursements to protect insurers against exceedingly high claims) for individual health insurance coverage, or (2) provide other assistance to reduce out-of-pocket costs (e.g., copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles) for qualified health plans offered in the individual market through an exchange.
The bill also nullifies a rule that expands short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Such plans may offer coverage for only a limited amount of time and are exempt from certain coverage requirements. The bill also nullifies guidance that alters how states may satisfy the criteria for approval of State Innovation Waivers from certain health insurance coverage requirements.
Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct outreach, education, and reporting activities related to enrollment in plans through health insurance exchanges, particularly in areas with disparities in income or health outcomes. It also establishes and funds grants to states to promote enrollment in health insurance coverage and requires health insurance exchanges to establish network adequacy standards. The bill makes recipients of benefits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program eligible for qualified health plans offered through such exchanges.
With respect to Medicaid, the bill increases to 100% the federal share of the cost for states to meet the minimum Medicaid expansion requirements and to cover newly-eligible individuals; the current federal share of such costs is 90%. It also requires states to provide 12 months of continuous coverage to individuals enrolling in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and extends postpartum Medicaid and CHIP coverage to 12 months. The bill further reduces federal matching funds for administrative costs and expands reporting requirements for states that have not met specified Medicaid expansion requirements.
The summary continues for 8 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on June 29, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 8, 2020: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 523.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Angie Craig (D-MN) introduced it on February 28, 2019, and 61 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 60 Democrats, 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 28, 2019, 2751 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2193 days ago, on September 8, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers