[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 563 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 563

      To provide for equal access to COBRA continuation coverage.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2011

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To provide for equal access to COBRA continuation 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 ``Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.

    (a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 4980B(g)(1)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end thereof;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a 
        comma; and
            (3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
                            ``(iii) as the domestic partner of the 
                        employee, as such term is defined by the group 
                        health plan, or
                            ``(iv) as the dependent child of the 
                        domestic partner (as defined in clause 
                        (iii)).''.
    (b) Special Rule for Retirees and Widows.--Section 4980B(g)(1)(D) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking clauses (i) 
through (iii), and inserting the following:
                            ``(i) as the spouse or domestic partner 
                        (described in subparagraph (A)(iii)) of the 
                        covered employee,
                            ``(ii) as the dependent child of the 
                        covered employee or the covered employee's 
                        domestic partner (described in clause (i)), or
                            ``(iii) as the surviving spouse or 
                        surviving domestic partner (described in clause 
                        (i)) of the covered employee.''.
    (c) Special Rule for Certain Bankruptcy Proceedings.--Section 
4980B(f)(2)(B)(i)(III) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 
by striking ``or dependent children of the covered employee'' and 
inserting ``, surviving domestic partner (described in subsection 
(g)(1)(A)(iii)), or dependent children of the covered employee or such 
surviving domestic partner''.
    (d) Qualifying Event.--Section 4980B(f)(3)(C) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before the period the 
following: ``, or the covered employee's domestic partner (described in 
subsection (g)(1)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such covered employee's 
domestic partner under the terms of the group health plan''.
    (e) Notice Requirements.--Section 4980B(f)(6)(A) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``and spouse of the 
employee (if any)'' and inserting ``and, if any, such covered 
employee's qualified beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 
              1974.

    (a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 607(3)(A) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(3)(A)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end thereof;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a 
        comma; and
            (3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
                            ``(iii) as the domestic partner of the 
                        employee, as such term is defined by the group 
                        health plan, or
                            ``(iv) as the dependent child of the 
                        domestic partner (as defined in clause 
                        (iii)).''.
    (b) Special Rule for Retirees and Widows.--Section 607(3)(C) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(3)(C)) 
is amended by striking clauses (i) through (iii) and inserting the 
following:
                            ``(i) as the spouse or domestic partner 
                        (described in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)) of the 
                        covered employee,
                            ``(ii) as the dependent child of the 
                        covered employee or the covered employee's 
                        domestic partner (described in clause (i)), or
                            ``(iii) as the surviving spouse or 
                        surviving domestic partner (described in clause 
                        (i)) of the covered employee.''.
    (c) Special Rule for Certain Bankruptcy Proceedings.--Section 
602(2)(A)(iii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)(iii)) is amended by striking ``or dependent 
children of the covered employee'' and inserting ``, surviving domestic 
partner (described in section 607(3)(A)(iii)), or dependent children of 
the covered employee or such surviving domestic partner''.
    (d) Qualifying Event.--Section 603(3) of the Employee Retirement 
Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1163) is amended by inserting 
before the period the following: ``, or the covered employee's domestic 
partner (described in section 607(3)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such 
covered employee's domestic partner under the terms of the group health 
plan''.
    (e) Notice Requirements.--Section 606(a)(1) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1166(a)(1)) is 
amended by striking ``and spouse of the employee (if any)'' and 
inserting ``and, if any, such covered employee's qualified 
beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

    (a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 2208(3)(A) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-8(3)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end thereof;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a 
        comma; and
            (3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
                            ``(iii) as the domestic partner of the 
                        employee, as such term is defined by the group 
                        health plan, or
                            ``(iv) as the dependent child of the 
                        domestic partner (as defined in clause 
                        (iii)).''.
    (b) Qualifying Event.--Section 2203(3) of the Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-3(3)) is amended by inserting before the period 
the following: ``, or the covered employee's domestic partner 
(described in section 2208(3)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such covered 
employee's domestic partner under the terms of the group health plan''.
    (c) Notice Requirements.--Section 2206(1) of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-6(1)) is amended by striking ``and spouse 
of the employee (if any)'' and inserting ``and, if any, such covered 
employee's qualified beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to plan years 
beginning after 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Special Rule for 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 this Act shall not apply to plan years beginning 
before the earlier 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) 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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 this Act shall not 
be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.
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