H. R. 1023
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight
An Act
To provide for compassionate payments with regard to individuals with blood-
clotting disorders, such as hemophilia, who contracted human immunodeficiency
virus due to contaminated antihemophilic factor, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ricky Ray
Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—HEMOPHILIA RELIEF FUND
Sec. 101. Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund.
Sec. 102. Compassionate payment relating to individuals with blood-clotting
disorders and HIV.
Sec. 103. Determination and payment.
Sec. 104. Limitation on transfer of rights and number of petitions.
Sec. 105. Time limitation.
Sec. 106. Certain claims not affected by payment.
Sec. 107. Limitation on agent and attorney fees.
Sec. 108. Definitions.
TITLE II—TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PRIVATE SETTLEMENT PAYMENTS IN
HEMOPHILIA-CLOTTING-FACTOR SUIT UNDER THE MEDICAID AND SSI
PROGRAMS
Sec. 201. Treatment of certain private settlement payments in hemophilia-clotting-
factor suit under the Medicaid and SSI programs.
TITLE I—HEMOPHILIA RELIEF FUND
SEC. 101. RICKY RAY HEMOPHILIA RELIEF FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a trust fund to be known as the ‘‘Ricky Ray
Hemophilia Relief Fund’’, which shall be administered by the Sec-
retary of the Treasury.
(b) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN FUND.—Amounts in the Fund
shall be invested in accordance with section 9702 of title 31, United
States Code, and any interest on and proceeds from any such
investment shall be credited to and become part of the Fund.
(c) AVAILABILITY
OF FUND.—Amounts in the Fund shall be
available only for disbursement by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services under section 103.
(d) TERMINATION.—The Fund shall terminate upon the expira-
tion of the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment
H. R. 1023—2
of this Act. If all of the amounts in the Fund have not been
expended by the end of the 5-year period, investments of amounts
in the Fund shall be liquidated, the receipts of such liquidation
shall be deposited in the Fund, and all funds remaining in the
Fund shall be deposited in the miscellaneous receipts account in
the Treasury of the United States.
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Fund to carry out this title $750,000,000.
SEC. 102. COMPASSIONATE PAYMENT RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS
WITH BLOOD-CLOTTING DISORDERS AND HIV.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the conditions described in subsection (b)
are met and if there are sufficient amounts in the Fund to make
each payment, the Secretary shall make a single payment of
$100,000 from the Fund to any individual who has an HIV infection
and who is described in one of the following paragraphs:
(1) The individual has any form of blood-clotting disorder,
such as hemophilia, and was treated with antihemophilic factor
at any time during the period beginning on July 1, 1982,
and ending on December 31, 1987.
(2) The individual—
(A) is the lawful spouse of an individual described
in paragraph (1); or
(B) is the former lawful spouse of an individual
described in paragraph (1) and was the lawful spouse of
the individual at any time after a date, within the period
described in such subparagraph, on which the individual
was treated as described in such paragraph and through
medical documentation can assert reasonable certainty of
transmission of HIV from individual described in paragraph
(1).
(3) The individual acquired the HIV infection through
perinatal transmission from a parent who is an individual
described in paragraph (1) or (2).
(b) CONDITIONS.—The conditions described in this subsection
are, with respect to an individual, as follows:
(1) SUBMISSION
OF
MEDICAL
DOCUMENTATION
OF
HIV
INFECTION.—The individual submits to the Secretary written
medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infec-
tion.
(2) PETITION.—A petition for the payment is filed with
the Secretary by or on behalf of the individual.
(3) 
DETERMINATION.—The 
Secretary 
determines, 
in
accordance with section 103(b), that the petition meets the
requirements of this title.
SEC. 103. DETERMINATION AND PAYMENT.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FILING PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall establish procedures under which
individuals may submit petitions for payment under this title. The
procedures shall include a requirement that each petition filed
under this Act include written medical documentation that the
relevant individual described in section 102(a)(1) has (or had) a
blood-clotting disorder, such as hemophilia, and was treated as
described in such section.
(b) DETERMINATION.—For each petition filed under this title,
the Secretary shall determine whether the petition meets the
requirements of this title.
H. R. 1023—3
(c) PAYMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent there are sufficient amounts
in the Fund to cover each payment, the Secretary shall pay,
from the Fund, each petition that the Secretary determines
meets the requirements of this title in the order received.
(2) PAYMENTS IN CASE OF DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual referred
to in section 102(a) who is deceased at the time that pay-
ment is made under this section on a petition filed by
or on behalf of the individual, the payment shall be made
as follows:
(i) If the individual is survived by a spouse who
is living at the time of payment, the payment shall
be made to such surviving spouse.
(ii) If the individual is not survived by a spouse
described in clause (i), the payment shall be made
in equal shares to all children of the individual who
are living at the time of the payment.
(iii) If the individual is not survived by a person
described in clause (i) or (ii), the payment shall be
made in equal shares to the parents of the individual
who are living at the time of the payment.
(iv) If the individual is not survived by a person
described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii), the payment shall
revert back to the Fund.
(B) FILING OF PETITION BY SURVIVOR.—If an individual
eligible for payment under section 102(a) dies before filing
a petition under this title, a survivor of the individual
may file a petition for payment under this title on behalf
of the individual if the survivor may receive payment under
subparagraph (A).
(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph:
(i) The term ‘‘spouse’’ means an individual who
was lawfully married to the relevant individual at
the time of death.
(ii) The term ‘‘child’’ includes a recognized natural
child, a stepchild who lived with the relevant individual
in a regular parent-child relationship, and an adopted
child.
(iii) The term ‘‘parent’’ includes fathers and
mothers through adoption.
(3) TIMING
OF
PAYMENT.—The Secretary may not make
a payment on a petition under this title before the expiration
of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment
of this Act or after the expiration of the 5-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) ACTION ON PETITIONS.—The Secretary shall complete the
determination required by subsection (b) regarding a petition not
later than 120 days after the date the petition is filed under
this title.
(e) HUMANITARIAN NATURE OF PAYMENT.—This Act does not
create or admit any claim of or on behalf of the individual against
the United States or against any officer, employee, or agent thereof
acting within the scope of employment or agency that relate to
an HIV infection arising from treatment with antihemophilic factor,
at any time during the period beginning on July 1, 1982, and
ending on December 31, 1987. A payment under this Act shall,
H. R. 1023—4
however, when accepted by or on behalf of the individual, be in
full satisfaction of all such claims by or on behalf of that individual.
(f ) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT PAID FROM FUND.—No costs
incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this title may be paid
from the Fund or set off against, or otherwise deducted from,
any payment made under subsection (c)(1).
(g) TERMINATION OF DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—The duties of the
Secretary under this section shall cease when the Fund terminates.
(h) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER OTHER LAWS.—A payment
under subsection (c)(1) to an individual—
(1) shall be treated for purposes of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 as damages described in section 104(a)(2) of
such Code;
(2) shall not be included as income or resources for purposes
of determining the eligibility of the individual to receive benefits
described in section 3803(c)(2)(C) of title 31, United States
Code, or the amount of such benefits, and such benefits shall
not be secondary to, conditioned upon reimbursement from,
or subject to any reduction because of receipt of, any such
payment; and
(3) shall not be treated as a third party payment or pay-
ment in relation to a legal liability with respect to such benefits
and shall not be subject (whether by subrogation or otherwise)
to recovery, recoupment, reimbursement, or collection with
respect to such benefits (including the Federal or State govern-
ments or any entity that provides such benefits under a con-
tract).
(i) 
REGULATORY
AUTHORITY.—The 
Secretary 
may 
issue
regulations necessary to carry out this title.
( j) TIME OF ISSUANCE OF PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall,
through the promulgation of appropriate regulations, guidelines,
or otherwise, first establish the procedures to carry out this title
not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND NUMBER OF
PETITIONS.
(a) RIGHTS NOT ASSIGNABLE
OR TRANSFERABLE.—Any right
under this title shall not be assignable or transferable.
(b) ONE PETITION WITH RESPECT
TO EACH VICTIM.—With
respect to each individual described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)
of section 102(a), the Secretary may not make payment with respect
to more than one petition filed in respect to an individual.
SEC. 105. TIME LIMITATION.
The Secretary may not make any payment with respect to
any petition filed under this title unless the petition is filed within
3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 106. CERTAIN CLAIMS NOT AFFECTED BY PAYMENT.
A payment made under section 103(c)(1) shall not be considered
as any form of compensation, or reimbursement for a loss, for
purposes of imposing liability on the individual receiving the pay-
ment, on the basis of such receipt, to repay any insurance carrier
for insurance payments or to repay any person on account of work-
er’s compensation payments. A payment under this title shall not
affect any claim against an insurance carrier with respect to insur-
ance or against any person with respect to worker’s compensation.
H. R. 1023—5
SEC. 107. LIMITATION ON AGENT AND ATTORNEY FEES.
Notwithstanding any contract, the representative of an individ-
ual may not receive, for services rendered in connection with the
petition of an individual under this title, more than 5 percent
of a payment made under this title on the petition. Any such
representative who violates this section shall be fined not more
than $50,000.
SEC. 108. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title:
(1) The term ‘‘AIDS’’ means acquired immune deficiency
syndrome.
(2) The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Ricky Ray Hemophilia
Relief Fund.
(3) The term ‘‘HIV’’ means human immunodeficiency virus.
(4) Unless otherwise provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
TITLE 
II—TREATMENT 
OF 
CERTAIN
PAYMENTS 
IN 
HEMOPHILIA-CLOT-
TING-FACTOR SUIT UNDER THE SSI
PROGRAM
SEC. 201. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS IN HEMOPHILIA-CLOT-
TING-FACTOR SUIT UNDER THE MEDICAID AND SSI PRO-
GRAMS.
(a) PRIVATE PAYMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the payments described in paragraph (2) shall not be
considered income or resources in determining eligibility for,
or the amount of—
(A) medical assistance under title XIX of the Social
Security Act; or
(B) supplemental security income benefits under title
XVI of the Social Security Act.
(2) 
PRIVATE
PAYMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The 
payments
described in this subsection are—
(A) payments made from any fund established
pursuant to a class settlement in the case of Susan Walker
v. Bayer Corporation, et al., 96–C–5024 (N.D. Ill.); and
(B) payments made pursuant to a release of all claims
in a case—
(i) that is entered into in lieu of the class settle-
ment referred to in subparagraph (A); and
(ii) that is signed by all affected parties in such
case on or before the later of—
(I) December 31, 1997; or
(II) the date that is 270 days after the date
on which such release is first sent to the persons
(or the legal representative of such persons) to
whom the payment is to be made.
(b) GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, the payments described in paragraph (2) shall not be
H. R. 1023—6
considered income or resources in determining eligibility for,
or the amount of supplemental security income benefits under
title XVI of the Social Security Act.
(2) GOVERNMENT
PAYMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The payments
described in this subsection are payments made from the Fund
established pursuant to section 101 of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.