[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 307 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 307

 To amend section 552a of title 5, United States Code, to provide for 
 the maintenance of certain health information in cases where a health 
care facility has closed or a health benefit plan sponsor has ceased to 
                              do business.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 1999

  Mr. Towns introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend section 552a of title 5, United States Code, to provide for 
 the maintenance of certain health information in cases where a health 
care facility has closed or a health benefit plan sponsor has ceased to 
                              do business.

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

SECTION 1. MAINTENANCE OF CERTAIN PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION.

    Section 552a of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(w) Maintenance of Certain Health Information Upon Cessation of 
Certain Businesses.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, a State shall establish a 
        process under which the protected health information described 
        in paragraph (2) that is maintained by a person described in 
        paragraph (3) is delivered to, and maintained by, the State or 
        an individual or entity designated by the State.
            ``(2) Information described.--The protected health 
        information referred to in paragraph (1) is protected health 
        information that--
                    ``(A) is recorded in any form or medium;
                    ``(B) is created by--
                            ``(i) a health care provider; or
                            ``(ii) a health benefit plan sponsor that 
                        provides benefits in the form of items and 
                        services to enrollees and not in the form of 
                        reimbursement for items and services; and
                    ``(C) relates in any way to the past, present, or 
                future physical or mental health or condition or 
                functional status of a protected individual or the 
                provision of health care to a protected individual.
            ``(3) Persons described.--A person referred to in paragraph 
        (1) is any of the following:
                    ``(A) A health care facility previously located in 
                the State that has closed.
                    ``(B) A professional practice previously operated 
                by a health care provider in the State that has closed.
                    ``(C) A health benefit plan sponsor that--
                            ``(i) previously provided benefits in the 
                        form of items and services to enrollees in the 
                        State; and
                            ``(ii) has ceased to do business.
            ``(4) Ineligibility of noncomplying states for contractor 
        status for purposes of federal civilian procurement.--A State 
        that fails to comply with paragraph (1) may not be considered 
        to be a responsible source (as such term is defined in section 
        4 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act) for purposes 
        of any contract to which the Federal Property and 
        Administrative Services Act of 1949 applies. For purposes of 
        the preceding sentence, the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services shall make timely recommendations to each executive 
        agency (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Federal 
        Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949) concerning 
        whether States are complying with paragraph (1).
            ``(5) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
                    ``(A) Health benefit plan.--The term `health 
                benefit plan' means--
                            ``(i) any contract of health insurance, 
                        including any hospital or medical service 
                        policy or certificate, hospital or medical 
                        service plan contract, or health maintenance 
                        organization group contract, that is provided 
                        by a carrier; and
                            ``(ii) an employee welfare benefit plan or 
                        other arrangement insofar as the plan or 
                        arrangement provides health benefits and is 
                        funded in a manner other than through the 
                        purchase of one or more policies or contracts 
                        described in clause (i).
                    ``(B) Health benefit plan sponsor.--The term 
                `health benefit plan sponsor' means a person who, with 
                respect to a specific item of protected health 
                information, receives or creates the information while 
                acting in whole or in part in the capacity of--
                            ``(i) an insurance carrier or other person 
                        providing a health benefit plan, including any 
                        public entity that provides payments for health 
                        care items and services under a health benefit 
                        plan that are equivalent to payments provided 
                        by a private person under such a plan; or
                            ``(ii) an officer or employee of a person 
                        described in clause (i).
                    ``(C) Health care.--The term `health care'--
                            ``(i) means--
                                    ``(I) any preventive, diagnostic, 
                                therapeutic, rehabilitative, 
                                maintenance, or palliative care, 
                                counseling, service, or procedure--
                                            ``(aa) with respect to the 
                                        physical or mental condition, 
                                        or functional status, of an 
                                        individual; or
                                            ``(bb) affecting the 
                                        structure or function of the 
                                        human body or any part of the 
                                        human body, including banking 
                                        of blood, sperm, organs, or any 
                                        other tissue; or
                                            ``(cc) any sale or 
                                        dispensing of a drug, device, 
                                        equipment, or other item to an 
                                        individual, or for the use of 
                                        an individual, pursuant to a 
                                        prescription; but
                            ``(ii) does not include any item or service 
                        that is not furnished for the purpose of 
                        maintaining or improving the health of an 
                        individual.
                    ``(D) Health care provider.--The term `health care 
                provider' means a person who, with respect to a 
                specific item of protected health information, receives 
                or creates the information while acting in whole or in 
                part in the capacity of--
                            ``(i) a person who is licensed, certified, 
                        registered, or otherwise authorized by law to 
                        provide an item or service that constitutes 
                        health care in the ordinary course of business 
                        or practice of a profession;
                            ``(ii) a Federal or State program that 
                        directly provides items or services that 
                        constitute health care to beneficiaries; or
                            ``(iii) an officer or employee of a person 
                        described in clause (i) or (ii).
                    ``(E) Health oversight agency.--The term `health 
                oversight agency' means a person who, with respect to a 
                specific item of protected health information, receives 
                or creates the information while acting in whole or in 
                part in the capacity of--
                            ``(i) a person who performs or oversees the 
                        performance of an assessment, evaluation, 
                        determination, or investigation relating to the 
                        licensing, accreditation, or certification of 
                        health care providers;
                            ``(ii) a person who--
                                    ``(I) performs or oversees the 
                                performance of an audit, assessment, 
                                evaluation, determination, or 
                                investigation relating to the 
                                effectiveness of, compliance with, or 
                                applicability of, legal, fiscal, 
                                medical, or scientific standards or 
                                aspects of performance related to the 
                                delivery of, or payment for, health 
                                care; and
                                    ``(II) is a public agency, acting 
                                on behalf of a public agency, acting 
                                pursuant to a requirement of a public 
                                agency, or carrying out activities 
                                under a State or Federal statute 
                                regulating the assessment, evaluation, 
                                determination, or investigation; or
                                    ``(III) an officer or employee of a 
                                person described in subclause (I) or 
                                (II).
                    ``(F) Health researcher.--The term `health 
                researcher' means a person who, with respect to a 
                specific item of protected health information, receives 
                or creates the information while acting in whole or in 
                part in the capacity of--
                            ``(i) a person conducting a biomedical, 
                        epidemiological, or health services research or 
                        statistics project, or a research project on 
                        behavioral and social factors affecting health; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) an officer or employee of a person 
                        described in clause (i).
                    ``(G) Person.--The term `person' includes an 
                authority of the United States, a State, or a political 
                subdivision of a State.
                    ``(H) Protected health information.--The term 
                `protected health information' means any information, 
                whether oral or recorded in any form or medium--
                            ``(i) that is created or received in a 
                        State by--
                                    ``(I) a health care provider;
                                    ``(II) a health benefit plan 
                                sponsor;
                                    ``(III) a health oversight agency; 
                                or
                                    ``(IV) a public health authority;
                            ``(ii) that relates in any way to the past, 
                        present, or future physical or mental health or 
                        condition or functional status of a protected 
                        individual, the provision of health care to a 
                        protected individual, or payment for the 
                        provision of health care to a protected 
                        individual; and
                            ``(iii) that--
                                    ``(I) identifies the individual; or
                                    ``(II) with respect to which there 
                                is a reasonable basis to believe that 
                                the information can be used to identify 
                                the individual.
                    ``(I) Protected individual.--The term `protected 
                individual' means an individual who, with respect to a 
                date--
                            ``(i) is living on the date; or
                            ``(ii) has died within the 2-year period 
                        ending on the date.
                    ``(J) Public health authority.--The term `public 
                health authority' means a person who, with respect to a 
                specific item of protected health information, receives 
                or creates the information while acting in whole or in 
                part in the capacity of--
                            ``(i) an authority of the United States, a 
                        State, or a political subdivision of a State 
                        that is responsible for public health matters;
                            ``(ii) a person acting under the direction 
                        of such an authority; or
                            ``(iii) an officer or employee of a person 
                        described in clause (i) or (ii).
                    ``(K) State.--The term ``State'' includes the 
                District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
                Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana 
                Islands.''.
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