Postal Service Reform Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1720 To provide stability to and enhance the services of the United States Postal Service, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 19, 2021 Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. BURR, Ms. HAS- SAN, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. SINEMA, Mrs. CAPITO, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. ROUNDS, and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To provide stability to and enhance the services of the United States Postal Service, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Postal Service Reform Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1720 IS TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE FINANCIAL REFORMS Sec. 101. Postal Service Health Benefits Program. Sec. 102. USPS Fairness Act. Sec. 103. Nonpostal services. TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE OPERATIONAL REFORMS Sec. 201. Performance targets and transparency. Sec. 202. Integrated delivery network. Sec. 203. Review of Postal Service cost attribution guidelines. Sec. 204. Rural newspaper sustainability. Sec. 205. Funding of Postal Regulatory Commission. Sec. 206. Flats operations study and reform. Sec. 207. Reporting requirements. Sec. 208. Postal Service transportation selection policy revisions. Sec. 209. USPS Inspector General oversight of Postal Regulatory Commission. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 (a) COMMISSION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘Commis- 2 sion’’ means the Postal Regulatory Commission. 3 (b) TERMS DEFINED IN TITLE 39, UNITED STATES 4 CODE.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘competitive product’’, 5 ‘‘market-dominant product’’, and ‘‘Postal Service’’ have 6 the meanings given those terms in section 102 of title 39, 7 United States Code. 8 TITLE I—POSTAL SERVICE 9 FINANCIAL REFORMS 10 SEC. 101. POSTAL SERVICE HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 89 of title 5, United 13 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 14 8903b the following: 15 ‘‘§ 8903c. Postal Service Health Benefits Program 16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered Medicare individual’ 1 means an individual who is entitled to benefits under 2 Medicare part A, but excluding an individual who is 3 eligible to enroll in Medicare part A under section 4 1818 or 1818A of the Social Security Act (42 5 U.S.C. 1395i–2, 1395i–2a); 6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘initial contract year’ means the 7 contract year beginning in January 2023; 8 ‘‘(3) the term ‘initial participating carrier’ 9 means a carrier that enters into a contract with the 10 Office to participate in the Postal Service Health 11 Benefits Program during the initial contract year; 12 ‘‘(4) the term ‘Medicare part A’ means part A 13 of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 14 1395c et seq.); 15 ‘‘(5) the term ‘Medicare part B’ means part B 16 of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 17 1395j et seq.); 18 ‘‘(6) the term ‘Office’ means the Office of Per- 19 sonnel Management; 20 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Postal Service’ means the United 21 States Postal Service; 22 ‘‘(8) the term ‘Postal Service annuitant’ means 23 an annuitant enrolled in a health benefits plan under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1720 IS this chapter whose Government contribution is paid 1 pursuant to the requirements of section 8906(g)(2); 2 ‘‘(9) the term ‘Postal Service employee’ means 3 an employee of the Postal Service enrolled in a 4 health benefits plan under this chapter whose Gov- 5 ernment contribution is paid by the Postal Service; 6 ‘‘(10) the term ‘Postal Service Medicare covered 7 annuitant’ means an individual who— 8 ‘‘(A) is a Postal Service annuitant; and 9 ‘‘(B) is a covered Medicare individual; 10 ‘‘(11) the term ‘Program’ means the Postal 11 Service Health Benefits Program established under 12 subsection (c); 13 ‘‘(12) the term ‘Program plan’ means a health 14 benefits plan offered under the Program; and 15 ‘‘(13) the definitions set forth in section 8901 16 shall apply. 17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—The requirements under this 18 section shall— 19 ‘‘(1) apply to the initial contract year and each 20 contract year thereafter; and 21 ‘‘(2) supersede any other provision of this chap- 22 ter inconsistent with those requirements, as deter- 23 mined by the Office. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE POSTAL SERVICE 1 HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM.— 2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 3 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Office shall 4 establish, within the Federal Employees Health 5 Benefits Program, the Postal Service Health 6 Benefits Program under which the Office con- 7 tracts with carriers to offer health benefits 8 plans as described under this section. 9 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER RE- 10 QUIREMENTS TO CONTRACTS.—Except as other- 11 wise provided in this section, any contract de- 12 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be consistent 13 with the requirements of this chapter for con- 14 tracts under section 8902 with carriers to offer 15 health benefits plans other than under this sec- 16 tion. 17 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM PLANS AND PARTICIPA- 18 TION.—The Program shall— 19 ‘‘(i) to the greatest extent practicable, 20 include plans offered by— 21 ‘‘(I) each carrier for which the 22 total enrollment in the plans provided 23 under this chapter includes, in the 24 contract year beginning in January 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1720 IS 2022, 1,500 or more enrollees who are 1 Postal Service employees or Postal 2 Service annuitants; and 3 ‘‘(II) any other carrier deter- 4 mined appropriate by the Office; 5 ‘‘(ii) be available for participation by 6 Postal Service employees and Postal Serv- 7 ice annuitants, in accordance with sub- 8 section (d); 9 ‘‘(iii) provide for enrollment in a plan 10 as an individual, for self plus one, or for 11 self and family; and 12 ‘‘(iv) not be available for participation 13 by an individual who is not a Postal Serv- 14 ice employee or Postal Service annuitant 15 (except as a member of family of such an 16 employee or annuitant or as provided 17 under paragraph (5)). 18 ‘‘(2) SEPARATE POSTAL SERVICE RISK POOL.— 19 The Office shall ensure that each Program plan in- 20 cludes rates that reasonably and equitably reflect the 21 cost of benefits provided to a risk pool consisting 22 solely of Postal Service employees, Postal Service an- 23 nuitants, and covered members of family of such em- 24 ployees and annuitants (regardless of the health 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1720 IS plan, coverage, or benefit program in which such an 1 employee, annuitant, or member of family is en- 2 rolled), taking into specific account the change in 3 benefits cost for the Program plan due to the Medi- 4 care enrollment requirements under subsection (e) 5 and any savings or subsidies resulting from sub- 6 section (f). 7 ‘‘(3) ACTUARIALLY EQUIVALENT COVERAGE.— 8 The Office shall ensure that each carrier partici- 9 pating in the Postal Service Health Benefits Pro- 10 gram provides coverage under the Program plans of- 11 fered by the carrier that is actuarially equivalent, as 12 determined by the Office, to the coverage that the 13 carrier provides under the health benefits plans of- 14 fered by the carrier under this chapter that are not 15 Program plans. 16 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 17 HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Ex- 18 cept as otherwise set forth in this section, all provi- 19 sions of this chapter applicable to health benefits 20 plans offered by carriers under section 8903 or 21 8903a shall apply to plans offered under the Pro- 22 gram. 23 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION OF CONTINUATION COV- 24 ERAGE.—In accordance with rules established by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1720 IS Office, section 8905a shall apply to health benefits 1 plans offered under this section in the same manner 2 as that section applies to other health benefits plans 3 offered under this chapter. 4 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF COVERAGE.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 6 graph (2), each Postal Service employee and Postal 7 Service annuitant who elects to receive health bene- 8 fits coverage under this chapter— 9 ‘‘(A) shall be subject to the requirements 10 of this section; and 11 ‘‘(B) may not enroll in any other health 12 benefits plan offered under any other section of 13 this chapter. 14 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 15 ‘‘(A) LACK OF GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE.— 16 An individual who is a Postal Service employee 17 or Postal Service annuitant may enroll in a 18 health benefits plan offered under any other 19 section of this chapter if the individual resides 20 in a geographic area for which there is not a 21 Program plan in which the individual may en- 22 roll. 23 ‘‘(B) ANNUITANTS AS OF PROGRAM INCEP- 24 TION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(i) CURRENT MEDICARE COVERED 1 ANNUITANTS.— 2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 3 subclause (II), in the case of an indi- 4 vidual who, as of January 1, 2023, is 5 a Postal Service Medicare covered an- 6 nuitant who has not enrolled in both 7 Medicare part A and Medicare part B, 8 the individual— 9 ‘‘(aa) may enroll in a health 10 benefits plan offered under any 11 other section of this chapter; and 12 ‘‘(bb) may not enroll in a 13 Program plan. 14 ‘‘(II) PROGRAM PLAN ENROLL- 15 MENT FOLLOWING MEDICARE PARTS A 16 AND B ENROLLMENT.—In the case of 17 an individual described in subclause 18 (I) who after January 1, 2023, is en- 19 rolled in both Medicare part A and 20 Medicare part B, beginning with the 21 first contract year beginning after the 22 date as of which the individual is en- 23 rolled in both Medicare part A and 24 Medicare part B— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(aa) subclause (I) shall no 1 longer apply to the individual; 2 and 3 ‘‘(bb) the individual may re- 4 ceive health benefits under this 5 chapter only through a Program 6 plan. 7 ‘‘(ii) PRE-MEDICARE ANNUITANTS.— 8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 9 subclause (II), an individual who, as 10 of January 1, 2023, is a Postal Serv- 11 ice annuitant and is not a Postal 12 Service Medicare annuitant (for a rea- 13 son other than eligibility to enroll in 14 Medicare part A under section 1818 15 or 1818A of the Social Security Act 16 (42 U.S.C. 1395i–2, 1395i–2a)) may 17 enroll in— 18 ‘‘(aa) a Program plan; or 19 ‘‘(bb) a health benefits plan 20 offered under any other section 21 of this chapter. 22 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—In the case 23 of an individual described in subclause 24 (I) who enrolls in a Program plan for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1720 IS any contract year beginning on or 1 after the date on which the individual 2 becomes a Postal Service Medicare 3 covered annuitant, beginning with 4 that contract year— 5 ‘‘(aa) subclause (I) shall no 6 longer apply to the individual; 7 and 8 ‘‘(bb) the individual may re- 9 ceive health benefits under this 10 chapter only through enrollment 11 in a Program plan. 12 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AS OF PRO- 13 GRAM INCEPTION.— 14 ‘‘(i) LEGACY COVERAGE.—A Postal 15 Service employee who is enrolled in a 16 health benefits plan under this chapter for 17 the contract year immediately preceding 18 the initial contract year that is not a 19 health benefits plan offered by an initial 20 participating carrier may enroll in a Pro- 21 gram plan or a health benefits plan offered 22 under any other section of this chapter, ex- 23 cept that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(I) if the Postal Service em- 1 ployee changes enrollment to a dif- 2 ferent health benefits plan under this 3 chapter during the open season for 4 the initial contract year, or after the 5 start of the initial contract year, the 6 Postal Service employee may only en- 7 roll in a Program plan; 8 ‘‘(II) if the health benefits plan 9 in which the employee is enrolled for 10 the contract year becomes available as 11 a Program plan, the Postal Service 12 employee may only enroll in a Pro- 13 gram plan; and 14 ‘‘(III) upon becoming a Postal 15 Service annuitant, if the Postal Serv- 16 ice employee elects to continue cov- 17 erage under this chapter, the Postal 18 Service employee shall enroll in a Pro- 19 gram plan during the open season 20 that is— 21 ‘‘(aa) being held when the 22 Postal Service employee becomes 23 a Postal Service annuitant; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Jun 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1720.IS S1720 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1720 IS ‘‘(bb) if the date on which 1 the Postal Service employee be- 2 comes a Postal Service annuitant 3 falls outside of an open season, 4 the first open season following 5 that date. 6 ‘‘(ii) CURRENT EMPLOYEES AGED 64 7 AND OVER.— 8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 9 subclause (II), an individual who, as 10 of January 1, 2023, is a Postal Serv- 11 ice employee and is not less than 64 12 years of age may enroll in— 13 ‘‘(aa) a Program plan; or 14 ‘‘(bb) a health benefits plan 15 offered under any other section 16 of this chapter. 17 ‘‘(I [Text truncated for display. 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