[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1877 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1877

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
  to prohibit group health plans which provide coverage of dependent 
    children of participants from excluding from coverage dependent 
children placed with participants for adoption, irrespective of whether 
the adoption has taken effect, and to prohibit restrictions on coverage 
 under such plans of such children solely on the basis of preexisting 
 conditions at the time such children would otherwise become eligible 
                             for coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 28, 1993

 Mr. Ackerman (for himself, Mr. Hyde, Mrs. Schroeder, and Mr. Smith of 
 New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
  to prohibit group health plans which provide coverage of dependent 
    children of participants from excluding from coverage dependent 
children placed with participants for adoption, irrespective of whether 
the adoption has taken effect, and to prohibit restrictions on coverage 
 under such plans of such children solely on the basis of preexisting 
 conditions at the time such children would otherwise become eligible 
                             for coverage.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Health Coverage for Adopted Children 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. RULES GOVERNING GROUP HEALTH PLAN COVERAGE FOR DEPENDENT 
              CHILDREN IN ADOPTION CASES.

    (a) In General.--Part 2 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 211 (29 U.S.C. 1061) as 
        section 212; and
            (2) by inserting after section 210 (29 U.S.C. 1060) the 
        following new section:

``group health plan coverage of dependent children in cases of adoption

    ``Sec. 211. (a) Coverage Effective upon Placement for Adoption.--A 
group health plan providing coverage for dependent children of 
participants shall provide such coverage for each dependent child 
placed with a participant for adoption by the participant in accordance 
with applicable State law, irrespective of whether the adoption has 
become final.
    ``(b) Restrictions Based on Preexisting Conditions at Time of 
Placement for Adoption Prohibited.--A group health plan may not 
restrict coverage under the plan of any dependent child adopted by a 
participant, or placed with a participant for adoption by the 
participant in accordance with applicable State law, solely on the 
basis of a preexisting condition of such child at the time that such 
child would otherwise become eligible for coverage under the plan, if 
the adoption or placement for adoption occurs while the participant is 
eligible for coverage under the plan.
    ``(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Group health plan.--The term `group health plan' has 
        the meaning provided such term under section 607(1).
            ``(2) Child.--The term `child' means, in connection with 
        any adoption, or placement for adoption, of the child, an 
        individual who has not attained age 18 as of the date of such 
        adoption or placement for adoption.
            ``(3) Placement for adoption.--The term `placement', or 
        being `placed', for adoption, in connection with any placement 
        for adoption of a child with any person, means the assumption 
        and retention by such person of a legal obligation for total or 
        partial support of such child in anticipation of adoption of 
        such child. The child's placement with such person terminates 
        upon the termination of such legal obligation.''.
    (b) State Assistance to Employers.--Section 514(b) of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 1144(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(9) Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any 
provision of State law to the extent it provides for reinsurance or 
similar assistance for plan sponsors in connection with coverage 
required to be provided under section 211.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 201(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1051(1)) is 
        amended by inserting after ``plan'' the following ``(except as 
        provided in section 211)''.
            (2) The table of contents in section 1 of such Act is 
        amended by striking the item relating to section 211 and 
        inserting the following new items:

``Sec. 211. Group health plan coverage of dependent children in cases 
                            of adoption.
``Sec. 212. Effective dates.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) General Rule.--The amendments made by section 2 shall apply 
with respect to plan years beginning on or after January 1, 1994.
    (b) Collective Bargaining Agreements.--In the case of a group 
health plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining 
agreements between employee representatives and one or more employers 
ratified before the date of the enactment of this Act, the amendments 
made by section 2 shall not apply to plan years beginning before the 
later of--
            (1) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining 
        agreements relating to the plan terminates (determined without 
        regard to any extension thereof agreed to after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act), or
            (2) January 1, 1994.
For purposes of paragraph (1), any plan amendment made pursuant to a 
collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan which amends the 
plan solely to conform to any requirement added by section 2 shall not 
be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.

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