II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 244 

To enable States to opt out of certain provisions of the Patient Protection 

and Affordable Care Act. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2011 

Mr. BARRASSO (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To enable States to opt out of certain provisions of the 

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. 

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 ‘‘State Health Care 

5 Choice Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to protect States’ rights 

8 and to ensure that States have the option to continue to 

9 implement State laws relating to health care delivery and 

10 health insurance that were in effect prior to the date of 


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•S 244 IS

1 enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 

2 Act (Public Law 111–148). 

3 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF STATE FLEXIBILITY TO PROVIDE 

4 HEALTH COVERAGE. 

5 (a) STATE OPT OUT OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF

6 PPACA.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State described in sub8 section (b) may elect to limit the application of any 

9 or all of the provisions of the Patient Protection and 

10 Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111–148) de11 scribed in paragraph (2) with respect to health in12 surance coverage within that State. 

13 (2) PROVISIONS DESCRIBED.—The provisions of 

14 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act de15 scribed in this paragraph are as follows: 

16 (A) Subtitles A through C of title I (and 

17 the amendments made by such subtitles), ex18 cept for sections 1253 and 1254. 

19 (B) Parts I, II, III, and V of subtitle D of 

20 title I (and the amendments made by such 

21 parts). 

22 (C) Part I of subtitle E of title I (and the 

23 amendments made by such part). 

24 (D) Subtitle F of title I (and the amend25 ments made by such part). 


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1 (E) Section 1561 (and the amendment 

2 made by such section). 

3 (F) Sections 2001 through 2006 and sub4 title C of title II (and the amendments made by 

5 such sections and subtitle). 

6 (G) Sections 10101 through 10107 (and 

7 the amendments made by such sections). 

8 (b) STATE DESCRIBED.— 

9 (1) ENACTMENT OF STATE LAW.—A State de10 scribed in this subsection is a State that enacts a 

11 law after the date of enactment of this Act that— 

12 (A) expresses the intent of the State to opt 

13 out of one or more of the provisions of the Pa14 tient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub15 lic Law 111–148) described in subsection (a); 

16 (B) contains a list of the provisions of such 

17 Act which will not apply to the State under the 

18 State law; and 

19 (C) expresses the intent of the State to 

20 continue to administer health coverage-related 

21 laws as in effect in the State on March 23, 

22 2010, or that provides for the implementation 

23 of related State laws enacted after such date. 

24 (2) REPEAL.—If a State repeals a law de25 scribed in paragraph (1), the provisions of the PaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Feb 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S244.IS S244

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1 tient Protection and Affordable Care Act listed in 

2 such law shall apply with respect to such State be3 ginning on the date of such repeal. 

4 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in consultation 

5 with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall promulgate regu6 lations to provide for the implementation of this Act. 

Æ 


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