[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4299 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4299

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent the Secretary of 
 Health and Human Services from limiting access to excepted benefits, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 18, 2015

Mr. Blum (for himself, Mr. King of Iowa, and Mr. Chabot) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent the Secretary of 
 Health and Human Services from limiting access to excepted benefits, 
                        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 ``Patient Opportunity Protection Act 
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF HOSPITAL INDEMNITY OR OTHER FIXED INDEMNITY 
              INSURANCE AS EXCEPTED BENEFITS.

    Section 2763 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-63) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``The requirements of'' 
        and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Exception.--The requirements of''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity 
        insurance.--In applying paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not 
        take any action (by regulation, guidance, policy statement, or 
        otherwise) to require a hospital indemnity or other fixed 
        indemnity insurance (as described in section 2791(c)(3)(B)) to 
        be treated as an excepted benefit only if the benefits of the 
        hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity insurance are 
        provided to an individual who--
                    ``(A) has other health coverage that is minimum 
                essential coverage within the meaning of section 
                5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue Code; or
                    ``(B) is otherwise treated as having such minimum 
                essential coverage.''.

SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR TREATMENT AS EXCEPTED BENEFIT.

    Section 2791 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) No Additional Conditions for Treatment as Excepted Benefit.--
In applying subsection (c), the Secretary shall not impose any 
additional condition that must be satisfied in order for benefits (or 
any combination thereof) to be treated as excepted benefits, including 
any condition that to be an excepted benefit the benefits must be 
provided only to individuals who have other health insurance coverage 
that is major medical coverage or is minimum essential coverage within 
the meaning of section 5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by sections 2 and 3 shall take effect as if 
included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 
111-148), and any final rule, guidance, policy statement, or other 
action taken by the Secretary of Health and Human Services that is 
inconsistent with such amendments is null and void.
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