II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3821 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide more options for 

affordable health insurance to uninsured Americans. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2020 

Mrs. LOEFFLER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide more 

options for affordable health insurance to uninsured 

Americans. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordable Health Care 

5 Options Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SHORT-TERM LIMITED DURATION INSURANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2791(b) of the Public 

8 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91(b)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(6) SHORT-TERM LIMITED DURATION INSUR2 ANCE.—The term ‘short-term, limited duration in3 surance’ means insurance covering medical care pro4 vided pursuant to a contract with an issuer that— 

5 ‘‘(A) has an expiration date specified in 

6 the contract that is less than 1 year after the 

7 original effective date of the contract and, tak8 ing into account renewals or extensions, has a 

9 duration of no longer than 3 years in total; 

10 ‘‘(B) may include a renewal guarantee; and 

11 ‘‘(C) with respect to such a contract hav12 ing a coverage start date on or after January 

13 1, 2019, displays prominently in the contract 

14 and in any application materials provided in 

15 connection with enrollment in such insurance in 

16 at least 14 point type the language in the fol17 lowing notice, with any additional information 

18 required by applicable State law: ‘This coverage 

19 is not required to comply with certain Federal 

20 market requirements for health insurance, prin21 cipally those contained in the Affordable Care 

22 Act. Be sure to check your policy carefully to 

23 make sure you are aware of any exclusions or 

24 limitations regarding coverage of preexisting 

25 conditions or health benefits (such as hosVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:37 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3821.IS S3821

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1 pitalization, emergency services, maternity care, 

2 preventive care, prescription drugs, and mental 

3 health and substance use disorder services). 

4 Your policy might also have lifetime or annual 

5 dollar limits on health benefits. If this coverage 

6 expires or you lose eligibility for this coverage, 

7 you might have to wait until an open enroll8 ment period to get other health insurance cov9 erage.’. 

10 ‘‘(7) RENEWAL GUARANTEE.—The term ‘re11 newal guarantee’, with respect to short-term limited 

12 duration insurance, means a provision in the con13 tract that permits a policyholder, when purchasing 

14 the initial insurance contract, to pay an additional 

15 amount for a guarantee that the policyholder can 

16 elect to purchase, for periods of time following expi17 ration of the initial contract, another policy or poli18 cies at some future date, at a specific premium that 

19 would not reflect any additional underwriting.’’. 

20 (b) TREATMENT OF SHORT-TERM LIMITED DURA21 TION INSURANCE AS EXCEPTED BENEFIT.—Section 

22 2791(c)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 300gg–91(c)(1)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (H) as sub25 paragraph (I); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(H) Short-term limited duration insur4 ance.’’. 

5 (c) SHORT-TERM HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS.— 

6 Part C of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating section 2794 (42 U.S.C. 

9 300gg–95) (regarding uniform fraud and abuse re10 ferral format), as added by section 6603 of the Pa11 tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public 

12 Law 111–148), as section 2795; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 2796. SHORT-TERM HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS. 

15 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall be construed to restrict 

16 individuals from purchasing insurance covering medical 

17 care, including short-term limited-duration insurance, that 

18 features renewal guarantees, as defined in section 

19 2791(b)(6).’’. 

Æ 


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