12 SENATE.— for Obama Bill

1

1 TITLE I—QUALITY, AFFORDABLE

2

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL3

AMERICANS4 Subtitle A—Effective Coverage for

5 All Americans

6 [Note: Further revisions are needed to complete the

7

work of integrating provisions into the existing HIPAA8

structure]9

PART I—PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THE

10 INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MARKETS

11 SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

12 ACT.

13 Part A of title XXVII of the Public Health Service

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg et seq.) is amended—

15 (1) by striking the part heading and inserting

16 the following:

17

"PART A—INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP MARKET

18 REFORMS";

19 (2) in section 2701 (42 U.S.C. 300gg)—

20 (A) by striking the section heading and

21 subsections (a) and inserting the following:

2

1

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) S

HORT

T

ITLE

.—This Act may be cited as the

3 "American Health Choices Act".

4 (b) T

ABLE OF

C

ONTENTS

.—The table of contents of

5

this Act is as follows: [to be supplied]

6

SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

7 (a) R

IGHTS OF

P

ATIENTS TO

C

HOOSE

T

HEIR

D

OC

-

8

TOR.—It is the right of patients to select the doctor of 9

their choice.10 (b) D

OCTOR

-P

ATIENT

R

ELATIONSHIP

.—A strong

11

doctor-patient relationship is essential to the practice of 12

medicine, and patients have a right to an effective doctor-13

patient relationship.14 (c) H

EALTH

P

ROFESSIONALS

S

HOULD

J

UDGE

W

HAT

15

Is B

EST FOR

T

HEIR

P

ATIENTS

.—Doctors, nurses, and16

other health professionals have the right to judge what17

is best for their patients.18 (d) No I

NTERFERENCE

W

ITH

T

HESE

R

IGHTS

.—

19

Nothing in the this Act or the amendments made by this20

Act interferes with the rights described in this section.

31

"SEC. 2705. PROHIBITION OF PREEXISTING CONDITION EX-2

CLUSIONS OR OTHER DISCRIMINATION3

BASED ON HEALTH STATUS.

4 "(a) I

N

G

ENERAL

.—A group health plan and a health

5

insurance issuer offering group or individual health insur-6

ance coverage may not impose any preexisting condition7

exclusion with respect to such plan or coverage."; and8 by transferring such section so as to

9

appe alter the section 2704 as added by para-

10

graph (3);11

(3) by redesignating existing sections 270412 through 2707 as sections 2715 through 2718; and

13 (4) by amending the remainder of subpart 1 of

14 such part to read as follows:

15

"Subpart 1—General Reform

16

"SEC. 2701. FAIR INSURANCE COVERAGE.

17 "(a) I

N

G

ENERAL

.—With respect to the premium

18

rate charged by a health insurance issuer for health insur-19

ance coverage offered in the individual or group market— 20 "(1) such rate shall vary only by—

21

"(A) family structure;22

"(B) community rating area;23

"(C) the actuarial value of the benefit;24

"

(D)

age, except, that such rate shall not25 vary by more than [2 to 1]; and

Category:	Government Docs
Rating:
Upload Date:	08/10/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	This document has no tags.

Documents

People