State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2003

State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to modify provisions relating to Federal matching grants for the operation of State high risk health insurance pools. Provides matching grants to States that have established pools that provide premium rates and covered benefits consistent with standards included in the NAIC Model Health Plan for Uninsured Individuals. (Currently, the law specifies other characteristics pools must have for States to receive matching funds, including that premiums charged under a pool are restricted to no more than 150 percent of the premium for applicable standard risk rates.)

Amends the formula for appropriating funds such that funds will be allotted to States based on the number of enrollees in qualified high risk pools. (Currently, funds are allotted based upon the number of uninsured individuals in States.)

Authorizes appropriations for the matching grants program through FY 2009.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1110 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1110

   To extend Federal funding for operation of State high risk health 
                            insurance pools.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 6, 2003

Mr. Towns (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Rodriguez, Mrs. Christensen, 
Mr. Ross, Ms. Norton, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Ford, Ms. Woolsey, 
    Mr. Frost, Mr. Owens, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. McDermott, Mr. 
    Grijalva, Mr. Hall, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Wexler, and Mr. Lucas of 
  Oklahoma) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To extend Federal funding for operation of State high risk health 
                            insurance pools.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``State High Risk Pool Funding 
Extension Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR OPERATION OF STATE HIGH RISK HEALTH 
              INSURANCE POOLS.

    Section 2745(c)(2) of the Public Health Service Act, as inserted by 
section 201 of the Trade Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-210), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``established a 
        qualified health risk pool that'' and all that follows through 
        the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ``established a 
        qualified health risk pool that provides for premium rates and 
        covered benefits for such coverage consistent with standards 
        included in the NAIC Model Health Plan for Uninsurable 
        Individuals'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``number of uninsured 
        individuals'' and inserting ``enrollees in qualified high risk 
        pools''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``$40,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2003 and 2004'' and inserting 
        ``$40,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and $75,000,000 for each of 
        fiscal years 2004 through 2009''.
                                 <all>