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| March 2005 |
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2005 HEALTH LEGISLATION (109th Session of Congress)
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| Bill Number | Short Title | Bill Status | Bill Summary | NCCMP Position |
| HR 328 | Pharmaceutical Market Access Act 2005 | Referred to Energy/Commerce and Judiciary | Introduced by Gutknecht (MI-1) - 01/25/05 - Amends FDA Act to allow importation of prescription drugs from approved countries/sources – Related to S 109 | Re-importation of drugs from approved countries and approved sources is expected to provide cost savings to multiemployer plans by lowering the costs of prescription drugs acquired for plan participants. |
| HR 525 | Small Business Health Fairness Act | Referred to Education / Workforce; 3/16/05 - Ordered to be Favorably Reported to the House (Yeas and Nays: 25-22) | Introduced by SJohnson - 2/2/05 - Proposes Association Health Plans | While joint purchasing and consolidated administration have been beneficial for multiemployer plans, provisions that could subject multiemployer plans to meet mandatory reserve requirements by expanding the scope of statutory and regulatory requirements to which plans are subjected (among others) are problematic. Unlike insurance companies, multiemployer plans are already subject to provisions of ERISA and the Taft-Hartley Act which, by definition requires employee representation on the Board of Trustees that sets coverage and payment policies. |
| HR 534 | Health Act of 2005 | Referred to Judiciary and Energy/Commerce | Introduced by Chris Cox - 2/2/2005 - reduces excessive burden liability system puts on health care – caps litigation recoveries | Proposed legislation does nothing to address quality of care issues that have given rise to medical litigation; instead it limits injured persons’ recovery amounts which are an insignificant factor in the rise of health care costs. |
| S16 | Affordable Health Care Act | Referred to Finance | Introduced by Sen. E. Kennedy (MA) - 1/24/05 - permits importation of qualifying prescription drugs from permitted countries; promotes health care information technology improvements (including loans and grants to obtain them); promotes standardized measures of quality health care and data collection; provides universal coverage for pregnant women and children under Medicaid and S-CHIP; provides tax credit for amounts paid toward health insurance of dependent child in excess of 5% of AGI; reduction of exemption if child not covered by health insurance; three-share program grants. | Reducing drug acquisition costs for plans by permitting the importation of quality drugs from other approved countries/sources and the technology improvement provisions are important steps toward improvement in health care cost containment. The standardization of quality health care and universal coverage for pregnant women and children under adequately funded Medicaid and S-CHIP programs also hold potential to reduce further cost shifting to plans. |
| S109 | Pharmaceutical Market Access | Referred to HELP | Introduced by DVitter - 1/24/05 - To amend FDA to permit importation of drugs - Related to HR 328 | Re-importation of drugs from approved countries and approved sources is expected to provide cost savings to multiemployer plans by lowering the costs of prescription drugs acquired for plan participants. |
| S 184 | Safe Import Act of 2005 | Referred to HELP | Introduced by Gregg - 1/26/05 - Amends FDA to protect public health from unsafe importation of prescription drugs and counterfeit prescription drugs | Re-importation of drugs from approved countries and approved sources is expected to provide cost savings to multiemployer plans by lowering the costs of prescription drugs acquired for plan participants. |
| S222 | Untitled | Referred to Finance | Introduced by DStabenow - 1/31/2005 - Amends Social Security Act so that the monthly Part B premium rate for each month in 2005 may not exceed the monthly premium rate for each month in 2004 adjusted by a specified CPI index. | Legislation that attempts to make premium costs more predictable contributes to retirement income security. |
| S406 | Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005 | Referred to HELP | Introduced by Snowe - 02/17/2005 - creates Association Health Plans | While joint purchasing and consolidated administration have been beneficial for multiemployer plans, provisions that could subject multiemployer plans to meet mandatory reserve requirements by expanding the scope of statutory and regulatory requirements to which plans are subjected (among others) are problematic. Unlike insurance companies, multiemployer plans are already subject to provisions of ERISA and the Taft-Hartley Act which, by definition requires employee representation on the Board of Trustees that sets coverage and payment policies. |
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2005 PENSION LEGISLATION (109th Session of Congress)
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| Bill Number | Short Title | Bill Status | Bill Summary | NCCMP Position |
| S 219 | NESTEG | Referred to Finance | Introduced by Grassley/Baucus - 1/31/2005 - NESTEG requires companies to allow employees to diversify out of stock, adopts permanently the yield curve as the replacement for 30-year Treasury rates used for pension funding, expands pension portability, permits employers that sponsor defined benefit plans to fund up to 130% of the current liability instead of 100%. Employers with junk bond ratings would have to freeze accruals in their pension plans if vested benefits are less than 50% funded and no lump sum payouts would be permitted. In addition, the bill lowers the PBGC premium for new, small employers to $5 per participant, rather than $19, for the first five years. Benefits for majority owners (50% or more) would phase in over ten years. The bill also calls for the PBGC “missing participant” program to be expanded to single employer defined contribution plans and a similar program to be set up for multiemployer plans. The bill also requires the notice and consent to distribution period to be expanded from 90 to 180 days. The bill has two provisions that affect multiemployer plans directly. Section 701 extends the ability to transfer excess pension assets to a multiemployer health plan. Section 702 permits transfer of excess funds from the black lung benefit trusts to the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund. |
Pension reform legislation that encourages the perpetuation of defined benefit pension plans of all types is an important public policy objective. The increase in the maximum contribution level for defined benefit plans is an important step to avoid the adoption of benefit improvements needed for the sole purpose of preserving the current deductibility of employer contributions. |
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2005 TAX LEGISLATION (109th Session of Congress)
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| Bill Number | Short Title | Bill Status | Bill Summary | NCCMP Position |
| HR 25 | Fair Tax Act of 2005 | Referred to Ways/Means | Eliminates IRS Code, changes tax system to consumption tax | Proposals for changes in the tax code that eliminate deductions for contributions to employer sponsored health benefit programs pose a serious threat to the continuation of such plans, including multiemployer plans. |
| S25 | Fair Tax Act of 2005 | Referred to Finance | Eliminates IRS Code, changes tax system to consumption tax | Proposals for changes in the tax code that eliminate deductions for contributions to employer sponsored health benefit programs pose a serious threat to the continuation of such plans, including multiemployer plans. |