Early Learning Proficiency Act

Mr. President, I rise today to advocate for increasing Medicare efficiency and effectiveness by introducing the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers, SMART, Act of 2011 with my colleagues, Senators Portman, Ben Nelson, and Burr.

The SMART Act initiates common sense changes to the Medicare Secondary Payer, MSP, system, as a means of achieving that efficiency and effectiveness. This system kicks in whenever a Medicare beneficiary is injured and another party accepts responsibility to pay for the costs associated with that injury, making Medicare the ``secondary payer.'' For example, if a Medicare beneficiary is injured when she slips in a store the store reimburses her for the costs of the injury. In this scenario the store becomes the party responsible for paying the costs associated with the injury, and if Medicare pays any of the costs associated with the injury, it has to be reimbursed. The purpose of this system is to ensure that Medicare does not pay claims that a third party is liable for. Although seemingly obvious, the system currently on the books is set up in manner that is unnecessarily burdensome to all parties involved in these claims.

At the heart of the problem is the lack of financial disclosure by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS. Under the current MSP system, CMS does not calculate the MSP amount owed to the Trust Fund until after a claim has settled, making it impossible for the parties to factor that amount into the settlement process. Even after the claim has been settled and reported to Medicare, it can take months for the parties to find out how much money is actually owed in reimbursement.

Does this make any sense at all? Of course not. The beneficiary has no idea what portion of the settlement will be left after the payment is made to Medicare, the third party responsible for the bill has no way of knowing whether or not the amount settled upon will be sufficient to fully reimburse Medicare, and the Medicare Trust Fund is denied much needed funds because of the uncertain settlement process.

It is clear that the repercussions of our inefficient MSP system are widespread. Individual beneficiaries and businesses large and small are left in the dark. On top of that, State and local governments that settle personal injury and worker compensation claims also fall victim to these long, drawn out settlements which costs a significant amount of money at a time when budgets are especially tight.

The legislation my colleagues and I are introducing today provides a straightforward and commonsense solution. The SMART Act would create a more effective and efficient MSP process for all parties involved, while speeding the return of Medicare Trust Fund dollars. This legislation will improve the flow of information so that beneficiaries and companies may determine how much money is owed to the Trust Fund before they settle a claim. This change will enable parties to calculate the MSP amount they owe and reimburse Medicare directly, and it will provide CMS with tools to ensure that Medicare is fully reimbursed.

Medicare beneficiaries and businesses will no longer be forced to play this real life version of ``Price is Right,'' where Medicare plays the Bob Barker/Drew Carey role and the other parties are forced to guess at how much is owed.

The SMART Act will also preserve taxpayer resources by ensuring that Medicare does not spend more money pursuing these cases than the claim is actually worth. There have been reports of MSP demands as low as $2--CMS should not be spending more money on postage than the Medicare Trust Fund will receive in reimbursement. Surely we can create a sensible threshold that will protect Medicare's interest and prevent parties from gaming the system without wasting government money chasing down elderly beneficiaries to collect a handful of quarters.

In addition to streamlining the MSP system the SMART Act will protect consumers by eliminating the requirement for businesses to collect Social Security Numbers or Medicare numbers during the claims process. This is in line with a recently launched Medicare campaign which encourages beneficiaries not to give out these numbers as an important tool in fighting health care fraud and identity theft. We should not be sending seniors mixed messages or punishing businesses that are unable to obtain this information, despite their best efforts, from understandably reticent seniors.

The SMART Act will provide much needed clarity to the MSP system and will relieve the burden that is currently placed on all parties involved in the process.

I urge my colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this important legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers, SMART, Act with Senators Wyden, Burr and Ben Nelson. This bi-partisan effort will help strengthen and protect Medicare by ensuring greater reliability and efficiency of Medicare reimbursements. The SMART Act proposes common- sense solutions to problems in the current Medicare Secondary Payer, MSP, system, at no cost to the American taxpayer. With Washington's sky high debt and deficit, we need to do everything we can to ensure that vital entitlement programs, such as Medicare, are cost effective and working for the very people they were designed to help.

Under the MSP program, if a Medicare beneficiary is injured by a third party and a settlement is pursued as a result of that injury, the third party is responsible for paying for the individual's medical expenses. If Medicare, now the ``secondary payer,'' pays any of the costs associated with the injury, it is entitled to reimbursement.

Numerous problems exist with the current MSP system; each of these are addressed by the SMART Act.

Under current law, Medicare does not have a pathway to disclose their MSP amount until after a case has been settled or adjusted--which creates an uncertainty that impedes beneficiaries and third parties from reaching a legal settlement. This legislation creates a process that allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, to disclose this information before settlement, so it can be factored into the settlement.

Second, Medicare often spends more money pursuing an MSP payment than they actually receive in payment. This bill requires that Medicare no longer pursue MSP claims that do not cover their own expenses.

Additionally, the MSP system requires complex and extensive reporting requirements from those who settle a claim involving Medicare. If all required information is not 100 percent accurate and on-time, the company is fined $1,000 per claim, per day. The SMART Act provides CMS with leeway to issue smaller fines and provides safe harbor to protect companies that make

good faith efforts to comply fully and on-time.

Furthermore, under these requirements, claim beneficiaries must submit their Social Security numbers or Health Insurance Claim Numbers, Medicare Numbers, to the settlement company so they can be reported to CMS, generating serious privacy concerns. This legislation directs Medicare to establish an alternative method of identifying individuals, to mitigate concerns about identity theft and Medicare fraud.

Finally, there is currently no clear statute of limitations on MSP claims. This bill sets a 3-year statute of limitations for most claims.

The SMART Act is a common-sense bi-partisan bill that will make the MSP system work more efficiently, reduce unnecessary burdens and waste, and speed the repayment of amounts owed to the Medicare Trust Fund.

Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Early Language Proficiency Act, legislation critical to preparing young children across our country to be successful in school.

Studies have shown that children who participate in pre-kindergarten programs are less likely to be held back a grade, show greater learning retention and initiative, have better social skills, are more enthusiastic about school, and are more likely to have good attendance records.

Experts agree that an early education experience is one of the most effective strategies for improving later school performance. The National Research Council reported that prekindergarten educational opportunities are critical in developing early language and literacy skills and preventing reading difficulties in young children.

This bill is a step forward in making a national commitment to giving all children access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs that have been proven to have a solid impact on a child's success later in school and in life.

The Early Language Proficiency Act, would authorize pre-kindergarten English language instruction as an allowable use of Federal funding. With over 5 million English language learning students nationwide, 1.5 million of who reside in my home State of in California, allowing school districts to use Federal funds to prepare young English learners for grade school is critical.

In addition, this legislation will help local school districts use federal funds to provide prekindergarten services to all young children they serve. Although school districts may already use Federal funds from Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for early education, many school districts are either unaware of or are uncertain of how to use this authority. The Early Language Proficiency Act would ensure that states provide proper guidance to local schools about how to use Title I funds to educate pre-kindergarteners.

The future of our Nation's economy depends on the next generation of workers, and high-quality early childhood education is key to preparing them for their careers. In the long run, pre-kindergarten programs pay for themselves. Decades of research have proven that early education programs yield between $7 to $16 for every dollar invested.

Ensuring that all students start school ready to learn is essential to ensuring that we meet our goal of having the best-educated workforce and the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. President. I rise to introduce legislation which would provide clarification to schools and school districts that wish to donate excess food to food banks and charitable organizations.

In 1996, Congress passed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations such as homeless shelters, soup kitchens and churches for distribution to needy individuals. The law limits the liability of donors to instances of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. However, because the law does not explicitly include schools as having limited liability, many schools and school districts have been hesitant to donate excess food.

This legislation would amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to clarify that schools and local education agencies participating in the school lunch program under the act are authorized to donate excess food to local food banks or charitable organizations. It would clarify that schools and local education agencies making donations would be exempt from civil and criminal liability to the extent provided under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act.

Schools interested in donating excess food would be encouraged and better informed with the passage of this legislation. The Secretary of Education would provide schools with guidance to assist schools with food donations.

Given the current economy and high unemployment rate, more and more individuals are becoming dependent on food banks and charities. This legislation would help to address the needs of those living in poverty by increasing support for food donations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.