[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 782 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 782

 To amend title 18, United States Code, to modify the exception to the 
     prohibition on the interception of wire, oral, or electronic 
 communications to require a health insurance issuer, health plan, or 
health care provider obtain an enrollee's or patient's consent to their 
                 interception, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 13, 1999

Mrs. Feinstein introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, to modify the exception to the 
     prohibition on the interception of wire, oral, or electronic 
 communications to require a health insurance issuer, health plan, or 
health care provider obtain an enrollee's or patient's consent to their 
                 interception, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Patients' Telephone Privacy Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON INTERCEPTION OF 
              COMMUNICATIONS.

    (a) Modification.--Section 2511(2)(d) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``It shall not be unlawful'' and inserting 
        ``(i) Subject to clause (ii), it shall not be unlawful''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(ii)(I) With respect to a wire, oral, or electronic communication 
between a health insurance issuer or health plan and an enrollee of 
such health insurance issuer or health plan, or between a health care 
provider and a patient, it shall not be unlawful under this chapter for 
a health insurance issuer, health plan, or health care provider to 
intercept such communication only if the patient has given prior 
express consent to such interception.
    ``(II) In this paragraph--
            ``(A) the term `health insurance issuer' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 733 of the Employee Retirement 
        Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b);
            ``(B) the term `health plan' means a group health plan, as 
        defined in section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income 
        Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b), an individual or self-
        insured health plan, the medicare program under title XVIII of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the medicaid 
        program under title XIX of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), 
        the State children's health insurance program under title XXI 
        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), the Civilian Health and 
        Medical Program of the Uniformed Services under chapter 55 of 
        title 10, and a health plan offered under chapter 89 of title 
        5; and
            ``(C) the term `health care provider' means a physician or 
        other health care professional.''.
    (b) Recording and Monitoring of Communications with Health 
Insurers.--
            (1) Communication without recording or monitoring.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a health insurance 
        issuer, health plan, or health care provider that notifies any 
        customer of its intent to record or monitor any communication 
        with such customer shall provide the customer the option to 
        conduct the communication without being recorded or monitored 
        by the health insurance issuer, health plan, or health care 
        provider.
            (2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) Health care provider.--The term ``health care 
                provider'' means a physician or other health care 
                professional.
                    (B) Health insurance issuer.--The term ``health 
                insurance issuer'' has the meaning given that term in 
                section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
                Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b).
                    (C) Health plan.--The term ``health plan'' means--
                            (i) a group health plan, as defined in 
                        section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income 
                        Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b);
                            (ii) an individual or self-insured health 
                        plan;
                            (iii) the medicare program under title 
                        XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        1395 et seq.);
                            (iv) the medicaid program under title XIX 
                        of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
                            (v) the State children's health insurance 
                        program under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        1397aa et seq.);
                            (vi) the Civilian Health and Medical 
                        Program of the Uniformed Services under chapter 
                        55 of title 10, United States Code; and
                            (vii) a health plan offered under chapter 
                        89 of title 5, United States Code.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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