S.Amdt. 241

SA 241. Mr. MARTINEZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 98 proposed by Mr. Inouye (for himself and Mr. Baucus)
to the bill H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations for job
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal
stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 735, after line 7, add the following:

SEC. 5006. MEDICAID INTERNET-BASED TRANSPARENCY PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--Title XIX of the Social Security Act is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 1942. INTERNET-BASED TRANSPARENCY PROGRAM.

``(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
implement a program under which the Secretary shall make
available through the public Internet website of the
Department of Health and Human Services non-aggregated
information on individuals collected under the Medicaid
Statistical Information System described in section
1903(r)(1)(F) insofar as such information has been de-
identified in accordance with regulations promulgated
pursuant to section 264(c) of the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. In implementing
such program, the Secretary shall ensure that--
``(1) the information made so available is in a format that
is easily accessible, useable, and understandable to the
public, including individuals interested in improving the
quality of care provided to individuals eligible for items
and services under this title, researchers, health care
providers, and individuals interested in reducing the
prevalence of waste and fraud under this title;
``(2) the information made so available is as current as
deemed practical by the Secretary and shall be updated at
least once per calendar quarter;
``(3) to the extent feasible--
``(A) all hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and large
physician practices included in such information that are
identifiable by name to individuals who access the
information through such program;
``(B) all individual health care providers not described in
subparagraph (A), including physicians and dentists, are
identifiable by unique identifier numbers that are disclosed
only to appropriate officials within the Department of Health
and Human Services and the State involved; and
``(C) the information made so available shall include non-
aggregated information with respect to the provision of
medical assistance under State plans under this title of
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa; and
``(4) the Secretary periodically solicits comments from a
sampling of individuals who access the information through
such program on how to best improve the utility of the
program.
``(b) Use of Contractor.--For purposes of implementing the
program under subsection (a) and ensuring the information
made available through such program is periodically updated,
the Secretary may select and enter into a contract with a
public or private entity meeting such criteria and
qualifications as the Secretary determines appropriate.
``(c) Annual Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this section and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the progress
of the program under subsection (a), including on the extent
to which information made available through the program is
accessed and the extent to which comments received under
subsection (a)(4) were used during the year involved to
improve the utility of the program.
``(d) Incentives for Compliance With Existing State
Requirements.--If the Secretary determines that a State has
not fully and properly complied with section 1903(r)(1)(F),
including any encounter data requirements, for any period
beginning after the date that is 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall reduce the
amount paid to the State under section 1903(a) by $25,000 for
each such day. Such reduction shall be made unless--
``(1) the State demonstrates to the Secretary's
satisfaction that the State made a good faith effort to
comply;

[[Page S1563]]

``(2) not later than 60 days after the date of a finding
that the State has not fully and properly complied with
section 1903(r)(1)(F), the State submits to the Secretary
(and the Secretary approves) a corrective action plan to
implement such a program; and
``(3) not later than 12 months after the date of such
submission (and approval), the State fulfills the terms of
such corrective action plan.

The Secretary shall transfer the amount of any reduction
under this subsection to the fund established under
subsection (e).
``(e) Funding.--
``(1) Medicaid internet-based transparency fund.--The
Secretary shall establish a fund to be known as the `Medicaid
Internet-based Transparency Fund', consisting of such amounts
as may be transferred to such Fund under subsection (d) and
such amounts as may be appropriated to such Fund under
paragraph (3).
``(2) Expenditures from fund.--Amounts in the Medicaid
Internet-based Transparency Fund shall be available to the
Secretary only for purposes of carrying out this section.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Medicaid Internet-based
Transparency Fund $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, to remain
available until expended.''.
(b) Feasibility Report on Including SCHIP Information in
Internet-Based Transparency Program.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall submit to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representative and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the
feasibility, potential costs, and potential benefits of
making publicly available through an Internet-based program
de-identified payment and patient encounter information for
items and services furnished under title XXI of the Social
Security Act which would not otherwise be included in the
information collected under the Medicaid Statistical
Information System described in section 1903(r)(1)(F) of such
Act and made available under section 1942 of such Act, as
added by subsection (a).
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