Bill > S1905

Introduced Session

A bill to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide for additional requirements with respect to the navigator program, and for other purposes. This bill makes several changes to the navigator program for health insurance exchanges (a program through which entities receive funding to provide education and enrollment assistance). Specifically, the bill addresses certain funding decisions and regulatory actions taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). For example, the bill increases funding for navigators in federally facilitated exchanges (FFEs) beginning in FY2020. (The CMS decreased annual funding for FFE navigators for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 program years.) The bill also counters guidance issued by the CMS regarding navigator criteria by requiring FFE navigators to be chosen without regard to how the entity provides information on association health plans or short-term, limited-duration insurance. The bill also reinstates certain requirements that were removed by the CMS in 2018. Specifically, the bill requires (1) at least two navigators in each FFE, including at least one community and consumer-focused nonprofit group; and (2) that navigators be physically present in the state where the exchange is located.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Tammy Baldwin (D)*,  Richard Blumenthal (D),  Cory Booker (D),  Bob Casey (D),  Chris Coons (D),  Tammy Duckworth (D),  Kamala Harris (D),  Maggie Hassan (D),  Mazie Hirono (D),  Tim Kaine (D),  Angus King (I),  Amy Klobuchar (D),  Bob Menendez (D),  Jeff Merkley (D),  Chris Murphy (D),  Gary Peters (D),  Jacky Rosen (D),  Jeanne Shaheen (D),  Tina Smith (D),  Debbie Stabenow (D),  Jon Tester (D),  Chris Van Hollen (D), 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (on 06/19/2019)

Official Document