I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3517 

To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to delay the 

individual health insurance mandate and any penalties for violating the 

individual mandate until after there is a certification that the 

healthcare.gov or other applicable State Exchange website is fully operational, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2013 

Mr. SCHRADER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

to delay the individual health insurance mandate and 

any penalties for violating the individual mandate until 

after there is a certification that the healthcare.gov or 

other applicable State Exchange website is fully operational, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal and State In3 surance Exchange Access Fairness and Penalty Delay Act 

4 of 2013’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DELAY IN APPLYING INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSUR6 ANCE MANDATE AND PENALTY FOR VIO7 LATING THE MANDATE BEFORE 

8 HEALTHCARE.GOV OR OTHER APPLICABLE 

9 STATE WEBSITE IS CERTIFIED AS BEING 

10 FULLY OPERATIONAL. 

11 Section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(h) DELAY IN APPLICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this sec15 tion shall not apply to an individual for any month 

16 that begins earlier than 30 days after the end of the 

17 extension of enrollment period provided under para18 graph (4). In applying the previous provisions of this 

19 section, the Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust 

20 the dates in this section accordingly based on the 

21 application of this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(2) GAO REPORT ON PROGRESS ON MAKING

23 THE EXCHANGE WEBSITES FULLY OPERATIONAL.— 

24 Beginning not later than 30 days after the date of 

25 the enactment of the Federal and State Insurance 

26 Exchange Access Fairness and Penalty Delay Act of 


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1 2013 and monthly thereafter (until such time as the 

2 Inspector General submits the certification under 

3 paragraph (3)), the Comptroller General of the 

4 United States shall submit to Congress and to the 

5 Inspector General for the Department of Health and 

6 Human Services monthly reports on the progress of 

7 the healthcare.gov website and applicable State Ex8 change websites in becoming fully operational (as de9 fined in paragraph (5)). 

10 ‘‘(3) INSPECTOR GENERAL OF HEALTH AND

11 HUMAN SERVICES CERTIFICATION.—Taking into ac12 count the reports submitted under paragraph (2), 

13 the Inspector General of the Department of Health 

14 and Human Services shall make a determination on 

15 whether or not the healthcare.gov website and each 

16 applicable State Exchange website is fully oper17 ational and, if so, shall submit to Congress (and 

18 post on an appropriate public website) a certification 

19 that the healthcare.gov website or the applicable 

20 State Exchange website (as the case may be) is fully 

21 operational. 

22 ‘‘(4) EXTENSION OF INITIAL ENROLLMENT PE23 RIOD.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv24 ices shall take such steps as are necessary to extend 

25 the initial enrollment period for individuals in qualiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:18 Nov 19, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3517.IH H3517

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1 fied health plans offered through Exchanges under 

2 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so 

3 that such period does not end earlier than 90 days 

4 after— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual residing 

6 in a State with an applicable State Exchange 

7 website, the date of the submittal to Congress 

8 of the certification under paragraph (3) both 

9 for the healthcare.gov website and for the appli10 cable State Exchange website; or 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual residing 

12 in a State without an applicable State Ex13 change website, the date of the submittal to 

14 Congress of the certification under paragraph 

15 (3) for the healthcare.gov website. 

16 ‘‘(5) FULLY OPERATIONAL DEFINED.—In this 

17 subsection, the term ‘fully operational’ means, with 

18 respect to the healthcare.gov website or an applica19 ble State Exchange website, that the website is fully 

20 functional and operating in a manner consistent 

21 with the role envisioned for Exchanges under the 

22 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and the 

23 amendments made by such Act). 

24 ‘‘(6) APPLICABLE STATE EXCHANGE WEBSITE

25 DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘applicable 


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1 State Exchange website’ means a website that is es2 tablished by a State in connection with enrollment 

3 activities in such State for an American Health Ben4 efits Exchange and that is separate from the 

5 healthcare.gov website.’’. 

Æ 


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