[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3618 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3618

To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
 to exempt from preemption thereunder certain provisions of law of the 
          State of Oregon relating to the Oregon Health Plan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 22, 1993

 Mr. Wyden (for himself and Ms. Furse) 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 exempt from preemption thereunder certain provisions of law of the 
          State of Oregon relating to the Oregon Health Plan.

    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 ``Universal Health Care for Oregonians 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM ERISA PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE 
              LAW OF THE STATE OF OREGON RELATING TO HEALTH PLANS.

    Section 514(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 
1974 (29 U.S.C. 1144(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
    ``(9)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), subsection (a) shall not 
apply to the following provisions of the law of the State of Oregon as 
applied to a group health plan:
            ``(i) Chapter 838, Oregon Laws 1989 (relating to the 
        creation and operation of a high-risk insurance pool).
            ``(ii) Chapter 591, Oregon Laws 1987, chapter 381, Oregon 
        Laws 1989, and chapter 916, Oregon Laws 1991 (relating to 
        employer-based health plan coverage reforms).
            ``(iii) Chapter 470, Oregon Laws 1991 (relating to health 
        care cost containment and technology assessment).
            ``(iv) Chapter 836, Oregon Laws 1989 and chapter 753, 
        Oregon Laws 1991 (relating to prioritization and medical 
        assistance reforms).
            ``(v) Chapter 815, Oregon Laws 1993 (relating to phasing in 
        of employer coverage and other revisions of the Oregon Health 
        Plan).
            ``(vi) Any other provision of the law of the State of 
        Oregon, to the extent that such provision is necessary to 
        achieve universal coverage under the Oregon Health Plan.
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply with respect to any provision of 
the law of the State of Oregon which provides, directly or indirectly, 
for taxation of employers or group health plans only if under such 
provision the assessment of the tax is under a uniform schedule, 
applicable to all employers and group health plans, and does not 
discriminate on the basis of the extent to which a group health plan is 
insured.
    ``(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `group health plan' 
has the meaning provided in section 607(1).''.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL HEALTH REFORM LEGISLATION TO THE STATE 
              OF OREGON.

    The State of Oregon shall not be treated as failing to comply with 
applicable requirements of any Federal health reform law, which is 
enacted on or after the date of the enactment of this Act and which 
provides for coverage of individuals under a comprehensive benefit 
package, before the first day of the first calendar year following the 
calendar year in which all other States have in effect plans under 
which individuals are eligible for coverage under a comprehensive 
benefit package in compliance with such law.

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