**(a) Grants** The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) shall make grants to States, with approved State regulatory programs under [section 1395ss of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section1395ss&num=0&edition=prelim), that submit applications to the Secretary that meet the requirements of this section for the purpose of providing information, counseling, and assistance relating to the procurement of adequate and appropriate health insurance coverage to individuals who are eligible to receive benefits under this subchapter (in this section referred to as “eligible individuals”). The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to establish a minimum level of funding for a grant issued under this section.
**(b) Grant applications**
(1) In submitting an application under this section, a State may consolidate and coordinate an application that consists of parts prepared by more than one agency or department of such State.
(2) As part of an application for a grant under this section, a State shall submit a plan for a State-wide health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program. Such program shall—
(A) establish or improve upon a health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program that provides counseling and assistance to eligible individuals in need of health insurance information, including—
(i) information that may assist individuals in obtaining benefits and filing claims under this subchapter and subchapter XIX of this chapter;
(ii) policy comparison information for medicare supplemental policies (as described in [section 1395ss(g)(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section1395ss/g/1
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_83a0246a8456eb019f8f59ae Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-42/section-1395i-health-insurance-information-counseling-and-assistance-grants--b4f69b8927.md Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded Passage SHA-256: c374f74198f6c0411db41303258c7e89276d3d5b39e5cc4373017c5db4416fa2 Retained source evidence SHA-256: c0b6cf0a94dc4df7405c94ad82150e0855825ec999a69bc97f21e48cb70d89c3
Source location: Title 42, Chapter 7, § 1395i; chapter-007-social-security.md
Stored source content
**(a) Grants** The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) shall make grants to States, with approved State regulatory programs under [section 1395ss of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section1395ss&num=0&edition=prelim), that submit applications to the Secretary that meet the requirements of this section for the purpose of providing information, counseling, and assistance relating to the procurement of adequate and appropriate health insurance coverage to individuals who are eligible to receive benefits under this subchapter (in this section referred to as “eligible individuals”). The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to establish a minimum level of funding for a grant issued under this section.
**(b) Grant applications**
(1) In submitting an application under this section, a State may consolidate and coordinate an application that consists of parts prepared by more than one agency or department of such State.
(2) As part of an application for a grant under this section, a State shall submit a plan for a State-wide health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program. Such program shall—
(A) establish or improve upon a health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program that provides counseling and assistance to eligible individuals in need of health insurance information, including—
(i) information that may assist individuals in obtaining benefits and filing claims under this subchapter and subchapter XIX of this chapter;
(ii) policy comparison information for medicare supplemental policies (as described in [section 1395ss(g)(1) of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section1395ss/g/1&num=0&edition=prelim)) and information that may assist individuals in filing claims under such medicare supplemental policies;
(iii) information regarding long-term care insurance; and
(iv) information regarding other types of health insurance benefits that the Secretary determines to be appropriate;
(B) in conjunction with the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program described in subparagraph (A), establish a system of referral to appropriate Federal or State departments or agencies for assistance with problems related to health insurance coverage (including legal problems), as determined by the Secretary;
(C) provide for a sufficient number of staff positions (including volunteer positions) necessary to provide the services of the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program;
(D) provide assurances that staff members (including volunteer staff members) of the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program have no conflict of interest in providing the counseling described in subparagraph (A);
(E) provide for the collection and dissemination of timely and accurate health care information to staff members;
(F) provide for training programs for staff members (including volunteer staff members);
(G) provide for the coordination of the exchange of health insurance information between the staff of departments and agencies of the State government and the staff of the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program;
(H) make recommendations concerning consumer issues and complaints related to the provision of health care to agencies and departments of the State government and the Federal Government responsible for providing or regulating health insurance;
(I) establish an outreach program to provide the health insurance information and counseling described in subparagraph (A) and the referrals described in subparagraph (B) to eligible individuals; and
(J) demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, an ability to provide the counseling and assistance required under this section.
**(c) Special grants**
(1) A State that is conducting a health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program that is substantially similar to a program described in subsection (b)(2) shall, as a requirement for eligibility for a grant under this section, demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such State shall maintain the activities of such program at least at the level that such activities were conducted immediately preceding the date of the issuance of any grant during the period of time covered by such grant under this section.
(2) If the Secretary determines that the existing health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program is substantially similar to a program described in subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may waive some or all of the requirements described in such subsection and issue a grant to the State for the purpose of increasing the number of services offered by the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program, experimenting with new methods of outreach in conducting such program, or expanding such program to geographic areas of the State not previously served by the program.
**(d) Criteria for issuing grants** In issuing a grant under this section, the Secretary shall consider—
(1) the commitment of the State to carrying out the health insurance information, counseling, and assistance program described in subsection (b)(2), including the level of cooperation demonstrated—
(A) by the office of the chief insurance regulator of the State, or the equivalent State entity;
(B) other officials of the State responsible for overseeing insurance plans issued by nonprofit hospital and medical service associations; and
(C) departments and agencies of such State responsible for—
(i) administering funds under subchapter XIX of this chapter, and
(ii) administering funds appropriated under the Older Americans Act [[42 U.S.C. 3001](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title42-section3001&num=0&edition=prelim) et seq.];
(2) the population of eligible individuals in such State as a percentage of the population of such State; and
(3) in order to ensure the needs of rural areas in such State, the relative costs and special problems associated with addressing the special problems of providing health care information, counseling, and assistance eligible 11 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “to”. individuals residing in rural areas of such State.
**(e) Annual State report** A State that receives a grant under this section shall, not later than 180 days after receiving such grant, and annually thereafter during the period of the grant, issue a report to the Secretary that includes information concerning—
(1) the number of individuals served by the health insurance information, counseling and assistance program of such State;
(2) an estimate of the amount of funds saved by the State, and by eligible individuals in the State, in the implementation of such program; and
(3) the problems that eligible individuals in such State encounter in procuring adequate and appropriate health care coverage.
**(f) Report to Congress** Beginning with 1992, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall issue a report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate, the Special Committee on Aging of the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives that—
(1) summarizes the allocation of funds authorized for grants under this section and the expenditure of such funds;
(2) outlines the problems that eligible individuals encounter in procuring adequate and appropriate health care coverage;
(3) makes recommendations that the Secretary determines to be appropriate to address the problems described in paragraph (3); 22 So in original. Probably should be paragraph “(2)”. and
(4) in the case of the report issued 2 years after November 5, 1990, evaluates the effectiveness of counseling programs established under this program, and makes recommendations regarding continued authorization of funds for these purposes.
**(g) Authorization of appropriations for grants** There are authorized to be appropriated, in equal parts from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996, to fund the grant programs described in this section.
Cross-references
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
§ 1395i. Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
(a) Creation; deposits; transfers from Treasury
There is hereby created on the books of the
Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be
known as the ‘‘Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund’’ (hereinafter in this section referred to as
the ‘‘Trust Fund’’). The Trust Fund shall consist
of such gifts and bequests as may be made as
provided in section 401(i)(1) of this title, and
such amounts as may be deposited in, or appro-
priated to, such fund as provided in this part.
There are hereby appropriated to the Trust
Fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1966, and
for each fiscal year thereafter, out of any mon-
eys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
amounts equivalent to 100 per centum of—
(1) the taxes imposed by sections 3101(b) and
3111(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
with respect to wages reported to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury or his delegate pursu-
ant to subtitle F of such Code after December
31, 1965, as determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury by applying the applicable rates of
tax under such sections to such wages, which
wages shall be certified by the Commissioner
of Social Security on the basis of records of
wages established and maintained by the Com-
missioner of Social Security in accordance
with such reports; and
(2) the taxes imposed by section 1401(b) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect
to self-employment income reported to the
Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate on
tax returns under subtitle F of such Code, as
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury
by applying the applicable rate of tax under
such section to such self-employment income,
which self-employment income shall be cer-
tified by the Commissioner of Social Securi
The Congress hereby finds and declares that, in keeping with the traditional American concept of the inherent dignity of the individual in our democratic society, the older people of our Nation are entitled to, and it is the joint and several duty and responsibility of the governments of the United States, of the several States and their political subdivisions, and of Indian tribes to assist our older people to secure equal opportunity to the full and free enjoyment of the following objectives:
(1) An adequate income in retirement in accordance with the American standard of living.
(2) The best possible physical and mental health (including access to person-centered, trauma-informed services as appropriate) which science can make available and without regard to economic status.
(3) Obtaining and maintaining suitable housing, independently selected, designed and located with reference to special needs and available at costs which older citizens can afford.
(4) Full restoration services for those who require institutional care, and a comprehensive array of community-based, long-term care services adequate to appropriately sustain older people in their communities and in their homes, including support to family members and other persons providing voluntary care to older individuals needing long-term care services.
(5) Opportunity for employment with no discriminatory personnel practices because of age.
(6) Retirement in health, honor, dignity—after years of contribution to the economy.
(7) Participating in and contributing to meaningful activity within the widest range of civic, cultural, education and training and recreational opportunities.
(8) Efficient community services, including access to low-cost transportation, which provide a choice in supported living ar
Stored review status: release_metadata_unconfirmed. The source passage cites 42 U.S.C. § 3001. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
§ 3001. Congressional declaration of objectives
The Congress hereby finds and declares that,
in keeping with the traditional American con-
cept of the inherent dignity of the individual in
our democratic society, the older people of our
Nation are entitled to, and it is the joint and
several duty and responsibility of the govern-
ments of the United States, of the several States
and their political subdivisions, and of Indian
tribes to assist our older people to secure equal
opportunity to the full and free enjoyment of
the following objectives:
(1) An adequate income in retirement in ac-
cordance with the American standard of liv-
ing.
(2) The best possible physical and mental
health (including access to person-centered,
trauma-informed
services
as
appropriate)
which science can make available and without
regard to economic status.
(3) Obtaining and maintaining suitable hous-
ing, independently selected, designed and lo-
cated with reference to special needs and
available at costs which older citizens can af-
ford.
(4) Full restoration services for those who
require institutional care, and a comprehen-
sive array of community-based, long-term care
services adequate to appropriately sustain
older people in their communities and in their
homes, including support to family members
and other persons providing voluntary care to
Page 5668
TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
§ 3001
older individuals needing long-term care serv-
ices.
(5) Opportunity for employment with no dis-
criminatory personnel practices because of
age.
(6) Retirement in health, honor, dignity—
after years of contribution to the economy.
(7) Participating in and contributing to
meaningful activity within the widest range of
civic, cultural, education and training and
Stored review status: historical_2024_not_currentness_verified. The source passage cites 42 U.S.C. § 3001. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.