[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2728 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2728

       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
 Reconciliation Act of 1996 to allow States and localities to provide 
            primary and preventive care to all individuals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2001

   Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
 Reconciliation Act of 1996 to allow States and localities to provide 
            primary and preventive care to all individuals.

    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 ``Good Health Protection Act of 
2001''.

SECTION 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
        Reconciliation Act of 1996 states that aliens may receive 
        ``assistance for health care items and services that are 
        necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical 
        condition''.
            (2) The Attorney General of Texas made a recent decision 
        based on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
        Reconciliation Act of 1996 that undocumented aliens could not 
        receive nonemergency medical care from hospitals with public 
        funds.
            (3) In the decision, the Texas Attorney General states that 
        Federal law prohibits hospitals from providing nonemergency 
        health care, which consists of primary and preventive care, to 
        undocumented aliens with public money.
            (4) If hospitals do not comply with the opinion of the 
        Texas Attorney General, they face the possibility of losing 
        Federal money or face criminal charges for misuse of public 
        funds.
            (5) The amendments made by section 2 will protect staff, 
        administrators, and members of boards of directors of hospitals 
        from criminal and civil penalties.
            (6) The opinion of the Texas Attorney General is unfair to 
        health care providers and endangers the health of all 
        residents.
            (7) It is necessary to amend the Personal Responsibility 
        and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to correct this 
        injustice.

SEC. 3. PERMITTING STATES AND LOCALITIES TO PROVIDE PRIMARY AND 
              PREVENTIVE CARE TO ALL INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) In General.--Section 411(b)(1) of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1621(b)(1)) 
is amended by inserting ``or for primary and preventive care'' after 
``Act)''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to primary and preventive care furnished before, on, or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. REMEDIES.

    Any person purposely or mistakenly denied after the enactment of 
this Act may in a civil action obtain appropriate relief.
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