I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4575 
To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers 
offering group or individual health insurance coverage to establish a 
process to address inaccurate information listed in publicly accessible 
provider directories of such plans and issuers, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 
Ms. SCHRIER (for herself and Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, 
and Ways and Means, 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 title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, 
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 
and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require group 
health plans and health insurance issuers offering group 
or individual health insurance coverage to establish a 
process to address inaccurate information listed in pub-
licly accessible provider directories of such plans and 
issuers, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Provider 
Directories Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND 
HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUERS TO ESTABLISH 
A PROCESS TO ADDRESS INACCURATE IN-
FORMATION LISTED IN PUBLICLY ACCES-
SIBLE PROVIDER DIRECTORIES OF SUCH 
PLANS AND ISSUERS. 
(a) PHSA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title XXVII of the Public 
Health Service (42 U.S.C. 300gg et seq.) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART D—OTHER MARKET REFORMS 
‘‘SEC. 2796. REQUIREMENT FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS 
AND HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUERS TO ESTAB-
LISH A PROCESS TO ADDRESS INACCURATE 
INFORMATION LISTED IN PUBLICLY ACCES-
SIBLE PROVIDER DIRECTORIES OF SUCH 
PLANS AND ISSUERS. 
‘‘A group health plan or a health insurance issuer of-
fering group or individual health insurance coverage shall 
establish a process to address inaccurate information list-
ed in any publicly accessible provider directory of such 
plan or issuer. Under such process, the plan or issuer, as 
the case may be, shall carry out each of the following: 
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‘‘(1) Display prominently on each publicly ac-
cessible provider directory of such plan or issuer 
contact information, such as an email address, 
phone number, or website address, that will allow an 
individual to notify such plan or issuer of any inac-
curate information listed with respect to a provider 
in such directory. 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receiving 
a notification pursuant to paragraph (1) that infor-
mation listed with respect to a provider in a publicly 
accessible provider directory of such plan or issuer 
is inaccurate— 
‘‘(i) investigate whether such information 
is inaccurate; and 
‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (B), in the 
case that such plan or issuer determines that 
such information is inaccurate, correct and up-
date such information in such directory. 
‘‘(B) In the case that such plan or issuer deter-
mines, pursuant to an investigation under clause (i) 
of subparagraph (A), that information listed with re-
spect to a provider in a printed provider directory is 
inaccurate, such plan or issuer may satisfy the cor-
rection and update requirement under clause (ii) of 
such subparagraph by correcting and updating such 
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information in each online provider directory of such 
plan or issuer. 
‘‘(3) Submit to the State insurance commis-
sioners of the States in which such plan or coverage, 
as applicable, is offered, and makes publicly avail-
able, an annual report on the number of notifica-
tions received pursuant to paragraph (1) during the 
year involved and the corrective actions taken under 
paragraph (2) with respect to such notifications.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 2722 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–21) is amend-
ed— 
(i) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘subparts 1 and 2’’; 
(ii) in subsection (b), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘subparts 1 and 2’’; 
(iii) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘subparts 1 and 2’’; 
(iv) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘subparts 1 and 2’’; 
(v) in subsection (c)(3), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; and 
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(vi) in subsection (d), in the matter 
preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 
part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’. 
(B) Section 2723 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–22) is amend-
ed— 
(i) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting 
‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; 
(ii) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting 
‘‘or part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; 
(iii) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting 
‘‘or part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; 
(iv) in subsection (b)(2)(A), by insert-
ing ‘‘or part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; and 
(v) in subsection (b)(2)(C)(ii), by in-
serting ‘‘and part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’. 
(C) Section 2724 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–23) is amend-
ed— 
(i) in subsection (a)(1)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘this part and 
part C insofar as it relates to this 
part’’ and inserting ‘‘this part, part 
D, and part C insofar as it relates to 
this part or part D’’; and 
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(II) by inserting ‘‘or part D’’ 
after ‘‘requirement of this part’’; 
(ii) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting 
‘‘or part D’’ after ‘‘this part’’; and 
(iii) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘or 
part D’’ after ‘‘this part (other than sec-
tion 2704)’’. 
(b) ERISA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part 7 of sub-
title B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1185 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘SEC. 716. REQUIREMENT FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND 
HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUERS TO ESTABLISH 
A PROCESS TO ADDRESS INACCURATE IN-
FORMATION LISTED IN PUBLICLY ACCES-
SIBLE PROVIDER DIRECTORIES OF SUCH 
PLANS AND ISSUERS. 
‘‘A group health plan or a health insurance issuer of-
fering group health insurance coverage shall establish a 
process to address inaccurate information listed in any 
publicly accessible provider directory of such plan or 
issuer. Under such process, the plan or issuer, as the case 
may be, shall carry out each of the following: 
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‘‘(1) Display prominently on each publicly ac-
cessible provider directory of such plan or issuer 
contact information, such as an email address, 
phone number, or website address, that will allow an 
individual to notify such plan or issuer of any inac-
curate information listed with respect to a provider 
in such directory. 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receiving 
a notification pursuant to paragraph (1) that infor-
mation listed with respect to a provider in a publicly 
accessible provider directory of such plan or issuer 
is inaccurate— 
‘‘(i) investigate whether such information 
is inaccurate; and 
‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (B), in the 
case that such plan or issuer determines that 
such information is inaccurate, correct and up-
date such information in such directory. 
‘‘(B) In the case that such plan or issuer deter-
mines, pursuant to an investigation under clause (i) 
of subparagraph (A), that information listed with re-
spect to a provider in a printed provider directory is 
inaccurate, such plan or issuer may satisfy the cor-
rection and update requirement under clause (ii) of 
such subparagraph by correcting and updating such 
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information in each online provider directory of such 
plan or issuer. 
‘‘(3) Submit to the State insurance commis-
sioners of the States in which such plan or coverage, 
as applicable, is offered, and makes publicly avail-
able, an annual report on the number of notifica-
tions received pursuant to paragraph (1) during the 
year involved and the corrective actions taken under 
paragraph (2) with respect to such notifications.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents in section 1 of such Act is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 714 the fol-
lowing new items: 
‘‘715. Additional market reforms. 
‘‘716. Requirement for group health plans and health insurance issuers to estab-
lish a process to address inaccurate information listed in pub-
licly accessible provider directories of such plans and issuers.’’. 
(c) IRC.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 
100 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 9816. REQUIREMENT FOR GROUP HEALTH PLANS TO 
ESTABLISH A PROCESS TO ADDRESS INAC-
CURATE INFORMATION LISTED IN PUBLICLY 
ACCESSIBLE 
PROVIDER 
DIRECTORIES 
OF 
SUCH PLANS. 
‘‘A group health plan shall establish a process to ad-
dress inaccurate information listed in any publicly acces-
sible provider directory of such plan. Under such process, 
the plan shall carry out each of the following: 
‘‘(1) Display prominently on each publicly ac-
cessible provider directory of such plan contact infor-
mation, such as an email address, phone number, or 
website address, that will allow an individual to no-
tify such plan of any inaccurate information listed 
with respect to a provider in such directory. 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receiving 
a notification pursuant to paragraph (1) that infor-
mation listed with respect to a provider in a publicly 
accessible provider directory of such plan is inac-
curate— 
‘‘(i) investigate whether such information 
is inaccurate; and 
‘‘(ii) subject to subparagraph (B), in the 
case that such plan determines that such infor-
mation is inaccurate, correct and update such 
information in such directory. 
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‘‘(B) In the case that such plan determines, 
pursuant to an investigation under clause (i) of sub-
paragraph (A), that information listed with respect 
to a provider in a printed provider directory is inac-
curate, such plan may satisfy the correction and up-
date requirement under clause (ii) of such subpara-
graph by correcting and updating such information 
in each online provider directory of such plan. 
‘‘(3) Submit to the State insurance commis-
sioners of the States in which such plan is offered, 
and makes publicly available, an annual report on 
the number of notifications received pursuant to 
paragraph (1) during the year involved and the cor-
rective actions taken under paragraph (2) with re-
spect to such notifications.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subchapter B of chapter 100 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 9816. Requirement for group health plans to establish a process to ad-
dress inaccurate information listed in publicly accessible pro-
vider directories of such plans.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to plan years begin-
ning on or after January 1, 2021. 
Æ 
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