Health insurance information, counseling, and assistance 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, 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. 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— 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— In issuing a grant under this section, the Secretary shall consider— 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— departments and agencies of such State responsible for— 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— 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— 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.