Are any new Federal Agencies to be created as part of the bill?
What are they and how will they function?
What is the definition of a “federal agency”?
You need to give us a definition of ‘federal agency’. There will be a new Medicare Commission which will be able to propose future cuts to Medicare that will become law without needing Congress to vote on them (Congress will be able to veto them though). But on the whole, I think the answer you’re going to get is basically “no”.
I think there’s maybe going to be a new office within HHS to oversee the exchanges, but I’m not sure. The law doesn’t establish the need for a new federal bureaucracy, because the insurers that provide the expanded care are all still private companies.
–Cliffy
Even if there is, the exchanges are going to be run directly by state governments so a federal office wouldn’t have very much to do (I’ll be a bit surprised if there is need for one at all). The IRS is getting some extra funding and some extra people, primarily in order to dispense the new tax credits that individuals and businesses will qualify for. And the HHS will probably be overseeing the new insurer regulations. But despite the hoopla about a government takeover, it seems to me that there’s surprisingly little expansion of federal bureaucracy.