§1515 Program Compliance and Integrity

Summary

Requires the crop insurance program to be run so it is honest and follows the rules. The Corporation must work with approved insurance providers to fix problems. If a provider makes an error that could create a debt to the Corporation, the Corporation must tell the provider in writing within 3 years after the end of the insurance period when the error happened, unless the error was willful. If the Corporation fails to give that notice in time (and the error was not willful), the provider is freed from the debt. The Secretary must have the Corporation and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) compare producer information at least once a year starting with the 2001 crop year. Agents and approved providers may correct producer information within a reasonable time after the sales closing date, after the acreage reporting date or after a Farm Service Agency correction, and anytime to fix electronic transmission mistakes, but corrections cannot let someone wrongly become eligible, increase a payment after a loss, or avoid legal obligations. Timely corrections follow special procedures and are not subject to late-filing penalties. The Corporation may allow a producer who accidentally failed to pay a required debt to pay and buy insurance after the sales closing date under set rules. Requires the FSA to help find and report fraud, waste, or abuse, to help audit claims, and to use data to spot unusual patterns. If FSA reports a problem and the Corporation does not reply in 5 calendar days, FSA may investigate with state approval and can refer the matter to the USDA Inspector General if needed. If a provider reports suspected intentional fraud, the Corporation must say in writing within 90 calendar days what it will do. The Secretary must consult State FSA committees about policies offered in each State. The Corporation must identify agents or loss adjusters whose claims or adjustments are at least 150 percent of the area average, review them, and take action if fraud or abuse is found; approved providers must annually review their agents and adjusters. Approved providers must send the Corporation, for each policy, the insured’s name and ID, the crop, the chosen coverage and price so the Corporation receives it by the Saturday of the week that contains the calendar day that is 30 days after the applicable sales closing date, and the actual production history so the Corporation receives it by the Saturday of the week that contains the calendar day that is 30 days after the applicable production reporting date. Willfully giving false information or willful noncompliance can lead, after a hearing, to fines up to the greater of the money gained by the violation or $10,000 per violation, and up to 5 years of disqualification from this program and certain other farm programs. Policies must tell people about these sanctions. The Secretary must send Congress an annual report about how these rules are working and what fraud or abuse was found. The Secretary must keep and improve the Corporation’s computer systems, make them work with other USDA systems, use data mining and data warehousing, allow producers to report acreage directly to the Department, and may hire private contractors. Loss adjusters and agents must get continuing education about the policies, program integrity, and local farming practices. Funding limits: up to $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and up to $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2018 (or up to $14,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2018 if the Acreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative is substantially completed by September 30, 2015; the Secretary must notify Congress of that substantial completion not later than July 1, 2015). For data mining and related tools, up to $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2025, and $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each later fiscal year.