Duties

(1) Review of access policies for all States and annual reports MACPAC shall— (A) review policies of the Medicaid program established under this subchapter (in this section referred to as “Medicaid”) and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program established under subchapter XXI (in this section referred to as “CHIP”) affecting access to covered items and services, including topics described in paragraph (2); (B) make recommendations to Congress, the Secretary, and States concerning such access policies; (C) by not later than March 15 of each year (beginning with 2010), submit a report to Congress containing the results of such reviews and MACPAC’s recommendations concerning such policies; and (D) by not later than June 15 of each year (beginning with 2010), submit a report to Congress containing an examination of issues affecting Medicaid and CHIP, including the implications of changes in health care delivery in the United States and in the market for health care services on such programs.

(2) Specific topics to be reviewed Specifically, MACPAC shall review and assess the following: (A) Medicaid and CHIP payment policies Payment policies under Medicaid and CHIP, including— (i) the factors affecting expenditures for the efficient provision of items and services in different sectors, including the process for updating payments to medical, dental, and health professionals, hospitals, residential and long-term care providers, providers of home and community based services, Federally-qualified health centers and rural health clinics, managed care entities, and providers of other covered items and services; (ii) payment methodologies; and (iii) the relationship of such factors and methodologies to access and quality of care for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries (including how such factors and methodologies enable such beneficiaries to obtain the services for which they are eligible, affect provider supply, and affect providers that serve a disproportionate share of low-income and other vulnerable populations). (B) Eligibility policies Medicaid and CHIP eligibility policies, including a determination of the degree to which Federal and State policies provide health care coverage to needy populations. (C) Enrollment and retention processes Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention processes, including a determination of the degree to which Federal and State policies encourage the enrollment of individuals who are eligible for such programs and screen out individuals who are ineligible, while minimizing the share of program expenses devoted to such processes. (D) Coverage policies Medicaid and CHIP benefit and coverage policies, including a determination of the degree to which Federal and State policies provide access to the services enrollees require to improve and maintain their health and functional status. (E) Quality of care Medicaid and CHIP policies as they relate to the quality of care provided under those programs, including a determination of the degree to which Federal and State policies achieve their stated goals and interact with similar goals established by other purchasers of health care services. (F) Interaction of Medicaid and CHIP payment policies with health care delivery generally The effect of Medicaid and CHIP payment policies on access to items and services for children and other Medicaid and CHIP populations other than under this subchapter or subchapter XXI and the implications of changes in health care delivery in the United States and in the general market for health care items and services on Medicaid and CHIP. (G) Interactions with Medicare and Medicaid Consistent with paragraph (11), the interaction of policies under Medicaid and the Medicare program under subchapter XVIII, including with respect to how such interactions affect access to services, payments, and dual eligible individuals. (H) Other access policies The effect of other Medicaid and CHIP policies on access to covered items and services, including policies relating to transportation and language barriers and preventive, acute, and long-term services and supports.

(3) Recommendations and reports of State-specific data MACPAC shall— (A) review national and State-specific Medicaid and CHIP data; and (B) submit reports and recommendations to Congress, the Secretary, and States based on such reviews.

(4) Creation of early-warning system MACPAC shall create an early-warning system to identify provider shortage areas, as well as other factors that adversely affect, or have the potential to adversely affect, access to care by, or the health care status of, Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries. MACPAC shall include in the annual report required under paragraph (1)(D) a description of all such areas or problems identified with respect to the period addressed in the report.

(5) Comments on certain secretarial reports and regulations (A) Certain secretarial reports If the Secretary submits to Congress (or a committee of Congress) a report that is required by law and that relates to access policies, including with respect to payment policies, under Medicaid or CHIP, the Secretary shall transmit a copy of the report to MACPAC. MACPAC shall review the report and, not later than 6 months after the date of submittal of the Secretary’s report to Congress, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress and the Secretary written comments on such report. Such comments may include such recommendations as MACPAC deems appropriate. (B) Regulations MACPAC shall review Medicaid and CHIP regulations and may comment through submission of a report to the appropriate committees of Congress and the Secretary, on any such regulations that affect access, quality, or efficiency of health care.

(6) Agenda and additional reviews (A) In general MACPAC shall consult periodically with the chairmen and ranking minority members of the appropriate committees of Congress regarding MACPAC’s agenda and progress towards achieving the agenda. MACPAC may conduct additional reviews, and submit additional reports to the appropriate committees of Congress, from time to time on such topics relating to the program under this subchapter or subchapter XXI as may be requested by such chairmen and members and as MACPAC deems appropriate. (B) Review and reports regarding Medicaid DSH (i) In general MACPAC shall review and submit an annual report to Congress on disproportionate share hospital payments under section 1396r–4 of this title . Each report shall include the information specified in clause (ii). (ii) Required report information Each report required under this subparagraph shall include the following: (I) Data relating to changes in the number of uninsured individuals. (II) Data relating to the amount and sources of hospitals’ uncompensated care costs, including the amount of such costs that are the result of providing unreimbursed or under-reimbursed services, charity care, or bad debt. (III) Data identifying hospitals with high levels of uncompensated care that also provide access to essential community services for low-income, uninsured, and vulnerable populations, such as graduate medical education, and the continuum of primary through quarternary care, including the provision of trauma care and public health services. (IV) State-specific analyses regarding the relationship between the most recent State DSH allotment and the projected State DSH allotment for the succeeding year and the data reported under subclauses (I), (II), and (III) for the State. (iii) Data Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary regularly shall provide MACPAC with the most recent State reports and most recent independent certified audits submitted under section 1396r–4(j) of this title , cost reports submitted under subchapter XVIII, and such other data as MACPAC may request for purposes of conducting the reviews and preparing and submitting the annual reports required under this subparagraph. (iv) Submission deadlines The first report required under this subparagraph shall be submitted to Congress not later than February 1, 2016 . Subsequent reports shall be submitted as part of, or with, each annual report required under paragraph (1)(C) during the period of fiscal years 2017 through 2024.

(7) Availability of reports MACPAC shall transmit to the Secretary a copy of each report submitted under this subsection and shall make such reports available to the public.

(8) Appropriate committee of Congress For purposes of this section, the term “appropriate committees of Congress” means the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate.

(9) Voting and reporting requirements With respect to each recommendation contained in a report submitted under paragraph (1), each member of MACPAC shall vote on the recommendation, and MACPAC shall include, by member, the results of that vote in the report containing the recommendation.

(10) Examination of budget consequences Before making any recommendations, MACPAC shall examine the budget consequences of such recommendations, directly or through consultation with appropriate expert entities, and shall submit with any recommendations, a report on the Federal and State-specific budget consequences of the recommendations.

(11) Consultation and coordination with MEDPAC (A) In general MACPAC shall consult with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (in this paragraph referred to as “MedPAC”) established under section 1395b–6 of this title in carrying out its duties under this section, as appropriate and particularly with respect to the issues specified in paragraph (2) as they relate to those Medicaid beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicaid and the Medicare program under subchapter XVIII, adult Medicaid beneficiaries (who are not dually eligible for Medicare), and beneficiaries under Medicare. Responsibility for analysis of and recommendations to change Medicare policy regarding Medicare beneficiaries, including Medicare beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, shall rest with MedPAC. (B) Information sharing MACPAC and MedPAC shall have access to deliberations and records of the other such entity, respectively, upon the request of the other such entity.

(12) Consultation with States MACPAC shall regularly consult with States in carrying out its duties under this section, including with respect to developing processes for carrying out such duties, and shall ensure that input from States is taken into account and represented in MACPAC’s recommendations and reports.

(13) Coordinate and consult with the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office MACPAC shall coordinate and consult with the Federal Coordinated Health Care Office established under section 2081 1 1 See References in Text note below. of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act before making any recommendations regarding dual eligible individuals.

(14) Programmatic oversight vested in the Secretary MACPAC’s authority to make recommendations in accordance with this section shall not affect, or be considered to duplicate, the Secretary’s authority to carry out Federal responsibilities with respect to Medicaid and CHIP.