I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1255 

To promote and protect from discrimination living organ donors. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021 

Mr. NADLER (for himself and Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, 

House Administration, Education and Labor, and Financial Services, 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 promote and protect from discrimination living organ 

donors. 

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 ‘‘Living Donor Protec5 tion Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DENIAL OF COVERAGE OR IN2 CREASE IN PREMIUMS OF LIFE OR DIS3 ABILITY INSURANCE FOR LIVING ORGAN DO4 NORS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, it shall be unlawful to— 

7 (1) decline or limit coverage of a person under 

8 any life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, 

9 or long-term care insurance policy, solely due to the 

10 status of such person as a living organ donor; 

11 (2) preclude an insured from donating all or 

12 part of an organ as a condition of continuing to re13 ceive a life insurance policy, disability insurance pol14 icy, or long-term care insurance policy; or 

15 (3) otherwise discriminate in the offering, 

16 issuance, cancellation, amount of such coverage, 

17 price, or any other condition of a life insurance pol18 icy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care in19 surance policy for a person, based solely and without 

20 any additional actuarial risks upon the status of 

21 such person as a living organ donor. 

22 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—A State insurance regulator 

23 may take such actions to enforce subsection (a) as are spe24 cifically authorized under the laws of such State. 

25 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) DISABILITY INSURANCE POLICY.—The term 

2 ‘‘disability insurance policy’’ means a contract under 

3 which an entity promises to pay a person a sum of 

4 money in the event that an illness or injury resulting 

5 in a disability prevents such person from working. 

6 (2) LIFE INSURANCE POLICY.—The term ‘‘life 

7 insurance policy’’ means a contract under which an 

8 entity promises to pay a designated beneficiary a 

9 sum of money upon the death of the insured. 

10 (3) LIVING ORGAN DONOR.—The term ‘‘living 

11 organ donor’’ means an individual who has donated 

12 all or part of an organ and is not deceased. 

13 (4) LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE POLICY.— 

14 The term ‘‘long-term care insurance policy’’ means 

15 a contract for which the only insurance protection 

16 provided under the contract is coverage of qualified 

17 long-term care services (as defined in section 

18 7702B(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

19 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ORGAN DONATION SURGERY AS 

20 QUALIFYING AS A SERIOUS HEALTH CONDI21 TION UNDER FMLA. 

22 (a) PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEES.—Section 101(11) 

23 of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 

24 2611(11)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including recovery 


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1 from surgery related to organ donation)’’ after ‘‘physical 

2 or mental condition’’. 

3 (b) FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (1) DEFINITION.—Section 6381(5) of title 5, 

5 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘(in6 cluding recovery from surgery related to organ dona7 tion)’’ after ‘‘physical or mental condition’’. 

8 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO ORGAN DONOR LEAVE.— 

9 Section 6382(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘An 

11 employee who takes any part of the 12-week period 

12 of leave under subsection (a)(1) to serve as an organ 

13 donor (including recovery from surgery related to 

14 organ donation) shall substitute, for as much of that 

15 part as possible, any leave available to the employee 

16 under section 6327.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. UPDATING OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ON THE 

18 BENEFITS AND RISKS OF LIVING ORGAN DO19 NATION. 

20 (a) EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS.— 

21 (1) REVIEW AND UPDATING.—Not later than 6 

22 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this 

24 section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall review 


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1 and update materials related to living organ dona2 tion in order to educate the public on— 

3 (A) the benefits and risks of living organ 

4 donation; and 

5 (B) the impact of living organ donation on 

6 the access of a living organ donor to insurance. 

7 (2) INFORMATION ON STATUTORY CHANGES.— 

8 Such updating shall include information on the 

9 changes made by sections 2 and 3 of this Act. 

10 (b) METHODS OF UPDATING.—In carrying out sub11 section (a), the Secretary shall update, as appropriate— 

12 (1) Public Service Announcements previously 

13 provided by the Secretary; 

14 (2) publicly accessible websites (such as 

15 organdonor.gov, or a successor website) that are 

16 maintained by the Secretary and that contain infor17 mation and resources regarding living organ dona18 tion; and 

19 (3) other media determined appropriate by the 

20 Secretary. 

Æ 


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