PRINTER'S NO. 496
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
476
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY FRANKEL, DEAN, STURLA, SCHLOSSBERG, CALTAGIRONE,
DERMODY, O'BRIEN, DONATUCCI, ROEBUCK, SIMS, D. MILLER,
FREEMAN, DALEY, KINSEY, McCARTER, KIM, BULLOCK AND McCLINTON,
FEBRUARY 13, 2017
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, FEBRUARY 13, 2017
AN ACT
Establishing the Affordable Care Act Repeal Study Commission;
and providing for its powers and duties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Affordable
Care Act Repeal Study Commission Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) The repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (Public Law 111-148, 124 Stat. 119) without a
comparable replacement plan will significantly increase the
number of people without health insurance across the United
States.
(2) According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an
estimated 52 million Americans have pre-existing conditions
that would have made them uninsurable prior to the passage of
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the Affordable Care Act.
(3) The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that
repealing the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate while
leaving market reforms in place will increase the number of
uninsured individuals by 18 million in the first full year
after repeal.
(4) This increase in the number of uninsured individuals
rises to 27 million after elimination of the Affordable Care
Act's Medicaid expansion and subsidies, ultimately reaching
32 million individuals by 2026.
(5) Premiums in the nongroup market would increase up to
25% by the first year following the repeal when compared to
current law and would double by 2026 after marketplace
subsidies are eliminated.
(6) CBO finds that nearly 60 million people under 65
years of age could be uninsured in 2026 if the Affordable
Care Act is repealed, compared with 28 million currently
without insurance.
(7) The American Hospital Association recently found
that repealing the Medicaid expansion, premium tax credits,
cost-sharing subsidies and penalties under the Affordable
Care Act would result in a $165.8 billion loss in hospital
net income over the 2018 to 2026 period, which could hurt
rural hospitals particularly hard.
(8) In this Commonwealth, over 400,000 residents
purchased insurance through the federal insurance marketplace
in 2016 and approximately 700,000 have signed up for Medicaid
expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
(9) In the first year of the Commonwealth's Medicaid
expansion, over 60,000 newly eligible enrollees accessed
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essential drug and alcohol treatment.
(10) The Commonwealth's uninsured rate has dropped from
10.2% in 2010 to 6.4% in 2015.
(11) It is only prudent for the Commonwealth to study
and create a plan to mitigate any negative effects resulting
from full or partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act,
address economic impacts, help save lives and protect public
health by suggesting and implementing solutions to a
potentially broad-scale loss of health care coverage.
Section 3. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Affordable Care Act." The Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (Public Law 111-148, 124 Stat. 119).
"Commission." The Affordable Care Act Repeal Study
Commission established under this act.
Section 4. The Affordable Care Act Repeal Study Commission.
(a) Establishment.--The Affordable Care Act Repeal Study
Commission is established to study and make recommendations to
the General Assembly and the Governor with respect to full or
partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act and its overall effect
on this Commonwealth.
(b) Membership.--The commission shall consist of the
following members:
(1) The Secretary of Health or a designee.
(2) The Secretary of Human Services or a designee.
(3) The Secretary of the Budget or a designee.
(4) The Insurance Commissioner or a designee.
(5) The Director of the Independent Fiscal Office or a
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designee.
(6) Two members appointed by the Governor within 25 days
of the effective date of this section, with knowledge and
experience in health care finance, hospital administration,
insurance markets, health care delivery systems or consumer
advocacy.
(7) Eight legislative members appointed within 25 days
of the effective date of this section as follows:
(i) Two individuals appointed by the President pro
tempore of the Senate.
(ii) Two individuals appointed by the Minority
Leader of the Senate.
(iii) Two individuals appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives.
(iv) Two individuals appointed by the Minority
Leader of the House of Representatives.
(c) Chairperson.--The commission shall appoint a member to
serve as chairperson.
(d) Quorum.--The physical presence of eight members shall
constitute a quorum of the commission.
(e) Majority vote required.--Action of the commission shall
be authorized or ratified by majority vote of its members.
(f) Meetings.--
(1) The commission shall hold its first meeting within
45 days of the effective date of this section, regardless of
the status of the appointments.
(2) The commission shall hold meetings as necessary but
no fewer than six times.
(g) Public hearings.--
(1) The commission shall hold public hearings as
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necessary to obtain the information required to issue its
report.
(2) A member who is not physically present may
participate by teleconference or video conference.
(h) Compensation prohibited.--Members of the commission
shall not receive compensation, but shall be reimbursed for
reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in their service on
the commission.
(i) Intergovernmental cooperation.--The General Assembly, in
cooperation with the Department of Health, the Insurance
Department, the Department of Human Services, the Office of the
Budget and the Independent Fiscal Office, shall provide
administrative support, relevant information or other assistance
as needed to the commission.
(j) Expiration.--The commission shall expire upon release of
the report identified in section 5.
Section 5. Report.
(a) Duty to issue.--Within six months of the commission's
first meeting, the commission shall issue a report.
(b) Content.--The report shall include, but not be limited
to:
(1) An assessment of the current and potential effects
of any health care coverage loss associated with full or
partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act on the residents,
public health and economy of this Commonwealth, including
what impact repeal would have on individuals accessing drug
treatment programs.
(2) An estimate of the possible financial costs and
other adverse effects to this Commonwealth, its residents and
health care providers associated with full or partial repeal
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of the Affordable Care Act.
(3) An examination of measures that might prevent or
mitigate the effects of full or partial repeal of the
Affordable Care Act and health care coverage losses on the
residents, public health and economy of this Commonwealth.
(4) Recommendations for laws and regulations that may be
warranted to minimize any adverse impacts of repealing the
Affordable Care Act, in whole or in part, and recommendations
that assist residents in obtaining and maintaining affordable
health care coverage moving forward.
(5) An analysis of any pending alternative health care
policies under consideration by the Congress of the United
States and how they compare to the Affordable Care Act.
(c) Submission of report.--A copy of the report shall be
submitted to the Governor, the General Assembly and the
Congressional delegation from this Commonwealth.
(d) Publication of report.--The finished report shall be a
public record under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
known as the Right-to-Know Law, and shall be adopted by the
commission at a public meeting.
Section 6. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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