This Act may be cited as the “Preventing Addiction for Susceptible Seniors Act of 2018” or the “PASS Act of 2018” .

(a) Inclusion in electronic prescription program.—Section 1860D–4(e)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–104(e)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

“(E) ELECTRONIC PRIOR AUTHORIZATION.—

“(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2021, the program shall provide for the secure electronic transmission of—

“(I) a prior authorization request from the prescribing health care professional for coverage of a covered part D drug for a part D eligible individual enrolled in a part D plan (as defined in section 1860D–23(a)(5)) to the PDP sponsor or Medicare Advantage organization offering such plan; and

“(II) a response, in accordance with this subparagraph, from such PDP sponsor or Medicare Advantage organization, respectively, to such professional.

“(ii) ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION.—

“(I) EXCLUSIONS.—For purposes of this subparagraph, a facsimile, a proprietary payer portal that does not meet standards specified by the Secretary, or an electronic form shall not be treated as an electronic transmission described in clause (i).

“(II) STANDARDS.—In order to be treated, for purposes of this subparagraph, as an electronic transmission described in clause (i), such transmission shall comply with technical standards adopted by the Secretary in consultation with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, other standard setting organizations determined appropriate by the Secretary, and stakeholders including PDP sponsors, Medicare Advantage organizations, health care professionals, and health information technology software vendors.

“(III) APPLICATION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of this subparagraph, the Secretary may require the use of such standards adopted under subclause (II) in lieu of any other applicable standards for an electronic transmission described in clause (i) for a covered part D drug for a part D eligible individual.”.

(b) Sense of Congress regarding electronic prior authorization.—It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) there should be increased use of electronic prior authorizations for coverage of covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals enrolled in prescription drug plans under part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act and MA–PD plans under part C of such title to reduce access delays by resolving coverage issues before prescriptions for such drugs are transmitted; and

(2) greater priority should be placed on increasing the adoption of use of such electronic prior authorizations among prescribers of such drugs, pharmacies, PDP sponsors, and Medicare Advantage organizations.

(a) In general.—Section 1859 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–28) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(i) Program integrity transparency measures.—

“(1) PROGRAM INTEGRITY PORTAL.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall, after consultation with stakeholders, establish a secure Internet website portal (or other successor technology) that would allow a secure path for communication between the Secretary, MA plans under this part, prescription drug plans under part D, and an eligible entity with a contract under section 1893 (such as a Medicare drug integrity contractor or an entity responsible for carrying out program integrity activities under this part and part D) for the purpose of enabling through such portal (or other successor technology)—

“(i) the referral by such plans of substantiated fraud, waste, and abuse for initiating or assisting investigations conducted by the eligible entity; and

“(ii) data sharing among such MA plans, prescription drug plans, and the Secretary.

“(B) REQUIRED USES OF PORTAL.—The Secretary shall disseminate the following information to MA plans under this part and prescription drug plans under part D through the secure Internet website portal (or other successor technology) established under subparagraph (A):

“(i) Providers of services and suppliers that have been referred pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) during the previous 12-month period.

“(ii) Providers of services and suppliers who are the subject of an active exclusion under section 1128 or who are subject to a suspension of payment under this title pursuant to section 1862(o) or otherwise.

“(iii) Providers of services and suppliers who are the subject of an active revocation of participation under this title, including for not satisfying conditions of participation.

“(iv) In the case of such a plan that makes a referral under subparagraph (A)(i) through the portal (or other successor technology) with respect to activities of substantiated fraud, waste, or abuse of a provider of services or supplier, if such provider or supplier has been the subject of an administrative action under this title or title XI with respect to similar activities, a notification to such plan of such action so taken.

“(C) RULEMAKING.—For purposes of this paragraph, the Secretary shall, through rulemaking, specify what constitutes substantiated fraud, waste, and abuse, using guidance such as what is provided in the Medicare Program Integrity Manual 4.7.1. In carrying out this subsection, a fraud hotline tip (as defined by the Secretary) without further evidence shall not be treated as sufficient evidence for substantiated fraud, waste, or abuse

“(D) HIPAA COMPLIANT INFORMATION ONLY.—For purposes of this subsection, communications may only occur if the communications are permitted under the Federal regulations (concerning the privacy of individually identifiable health information) promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

“(2) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Beginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall make available to MA plans under this part and prescription drug plans under part D in a timely manner (but no less frequently than quarterly) and using information submitted to an entity described in paragraph (1) through the portal (or other successor technology) described in such paragraph or pursuant to section 1893, information on fraud, waste, and abuse schemes and trends in identifying suspicious activity. Information included in each such report shall—

“(A) include administrative actions, pertinent information related to opioid overprescribing, and other data determined appropriate by the Secretary in consultation with stakeholders; and

“(B) be anonymized information submitted by plans without identifying the source of such information.

“(3) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as precluding or otherwise affecting referrals described in subparagraph (A) that may otherwise be made to law enforcement entities or to the Secretary.”.

(b) Contract requirement to communicate plan corrective actions against opioid over-prescribers.—Section 1857(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–27(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(5) COMMUNICATING PLAN CORRECTIVE ACTIONS AGAINST OPIOIDS OVER-PRESCRIBERS.—

“(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, a contract under this section with an MA organization shall require the organization to submit to the Secretary, through the process established under subparagraph (B), information on the investigations and other actions taken by such plans related to providers of services who prescribe a high volume of opioids.

“(B) PROCESS.—Not later than January 1, 2021, the Secretary shall, in consultation with stakeholders, establish a process under which MA plans and prescription drug plans shall submit to the Secretary information described in subparagraph (A).

“(C) REGULATIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph, including as applied under section 1860D–12(b)(3)(D), the Secretary shall, pursuant to rulemaking—

“(i) specify a definition for the term ‘high volume of opioids’ and a method for determining if a provider of services prescribes such a high volume; and

“(ii) establish the process described in subparagraph (B) and the types of information that shall be submitted through such process.”.

(c) Reference under part D to program integrity transparency measures.—Section 1860D–4 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–104) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(m) Program integrity transparency measures.—For program integrity transparency measures applied with respect to prescription drug plan and MA plans, see section 1859(i).”.

Section 1860D–4(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–104(c)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended—

Section 1860D–4(c)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–104(c)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated.