[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2278

   To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so as to 
 eliminate the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
 to limit the ability of medical providers to conduct lawful business, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 1, 2014

   Mr. Coburn (for himself, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Paul, and Mr. Barrasso) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so as to 
 eliminate the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
 to limit the ability of medical providers to conduct lawful business, 
                        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 ``Safeguarding Care Of Patients 
Everywhere Act'' or the ``SCOPE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The practice of medicine is guided by a set of 
        principles contained in the Hippocratic oath, which in part 
        directs medical practitioners to ``remember that I do not treat 
        a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being''.
            (2) Historically, the practice of medicine has been 
        principally governed by the laws of each of the 50 States, not 
        the Federal Government.
            (3) State medical licensing and disciplinary boards 
        administer medical practice laws and have the principal 
        responsibility to protect the public from improper and unlawful 
        medical practices.
            (4) Such boards define activities that constitute the 
        legitimate practice of medicine.
            (5) The actions of the Secretary of Health and Human 
        Services are not governed by the Hippocratic oath or a medical 
        board of any of the 50 States.
            (6) The actions of the Secretary are not determined solely 
        by the needs of patients.
            (7) Individual and institutional financial interests can 
        influence the discretion and actions of the Secretary.
            (8) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in 
        subsection (h) of section 1311 (42 U.S.C. 18031), grants the 
        Secretary the authority to--
                    (A) make findings regarding the quality of medical 
                care and the activities that constitute the legitimate 
                practice of medicine; and
                    (B) on the basis of these findings, terminate or 
                limit the ability of medical providers to conduct 
                lawful business, thus restricting the practice of 
                medicine by curtailing economic activity.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to remove from the 
Secretary such improper authority, which presents a threat to the 
health and welfare of patients in the United States.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF RESTRICTIONS ON THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF 
              PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ENTERING INTO 
              CONTRACTS WITH HEALTH PLANS.

    Section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 
U.S.C. 18031) is amended by striking subsection (h), relating to the 
authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to regulate 
contracts between qualified health plans and health care providers 
based on findings of health care quality.
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