I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 307
To amend section 552a of title 5, United States Code, to provide for the
maintenance of certain health information in cases where a health care
facility has closed or a health benefit plan sponsor has ceased to do
business.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. TOWNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Government Reform
A BILL
To amend section 552a of title 5, United States Code, to
provide for the maintenance of certain health information
in cases where a health care facility has closed or a
health benefit plan sponsor has ceased to do business.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 
1. 
MAINTENANCE 
OF 
CERTAIN 
PROTECTED
HEALTH INFORMATION.
Section 552a of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(w) MAINTENANCE OF CERTAIN HEALTH INFORMA-
TION UPON CESSATION OF CERTAIN BUSINESSES.—
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this section, a
State shall establish a process under which the pro-
tected health information described in paragraph (2)
that is maintained by a person described in para-
graph (3) is delivered to, and maintained by, the
State or an individual or entity designated by the
State.
‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The protected
health information referred to in paragraph (1) is
protected health information that—
‘‘(A) is recorded in any form or medium;
‘‘(B) is created by—
‘‘(i) a health care provider; or
‘‘(ii) a health benefit plan sponsor
that provides benefits in the form of items
and services to enrollees and not in the
form of reimbursement for items and serv-
ices; and
‘‘(C) relates in any way to the past,
present, or future physical or mental health or
condition or functional status of a protected in-
dividual or the provision of health care to a pro-
tected individual.
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‘‘(3) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person referred
to in paragraph (1) is any of the following:
‘‘(A) A health care facility previously lo-
cated in the State that has closed.
‘‘(B) A professional practice previously op-
erated by a health care provider in the State
that has closed.
‘‘(C) A health benefit plan sponsor that—
‘‘(i) previously provided benefits in the
form of items and services to enrollees in
the State; and
‘‘(ii) has ceased to do business.
‘‘(4) INELIGIBILITY OF NONCOMPLYING STATES
FOR CONTRACTOR STATUS FOR PURPOSES OF FED-
ERAL CIVILIAN PROCUREMENT.—A State that fails
to comply with paragraph (1) may not be considered
to be a responsible source (as such term is defined
in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procurement
Policy Act) for purposes of any contract to which
the Federal Property and Administrative Services
Act of 1949 applies. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices shall make timely recommendations to each ex-
ecutive agency (as such term is defined in section 3
of the Federal Property and Administrative Services
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‘‘(cc) any sale or dispensing
of a drug, device, equipment, or
other item to an individual, or for
the use of an individual, pursu-
ant to a prescription; but
‘‘(ii) does not include any item or
service that is not furnished for the pur-
pose of maintaining or improving the
health of an individual.
‘‘(D) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term
‘health care provider’ means a person who, with
respect to a specific item of protected health in-
formation, receives or creates the information
while acting in whole or in part in the capacity
of—
‘‘(i) a person who is licensed, certified,
registered, or otherwise authorized by law
to provide an item or service that con-
stitutes health care in the ordinary course
of business or practice of a profession;
‘‘(ii) a Federal or State program that
directly provides items or services that con-
stitute health care to beneficiaries; or
‘‘(iii) an officer or employee of a per-
son described in clause (i) or (ii).
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‘‘(E) HEALTH OVERSIGHT AGENCY.—The
term ‘health oversight agency’ means a person
who, with respect to a specific item of protected
health information, receives or creates the infor-
mation while acting in whole or in part in the
capacity of—
‘‘(i) a person who performs or over-
sees the performance of an assessment,
evaluation, determination, or investigation
relating to the licensing, accreditation, or
certification of health care providers;
‘‘(ii) a person who—
‘‘(I) performs or oversees the
performance of an audit, assessment,
evaluation, determination, or inves-
tigation relating to the effectiveness
of, compliance with, or applicability
of, legal, fiscal, medical, or scientific
standards or aspects of performance
related to the delivery of, or payment
for, health care; and
‘‘(II) is a public agency, acting
on behalf of a public agency, acting
pursuant to a requirement of a public
agency, or carrying out activities
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under a State or Federal statute regu-
lating the assessment, evaluation, de-
termination, or investigation; or
‘‘(III) an officer or employee of a
person described in subclause (I) or
(II).
‘‘(F) HEALTH
RESEARCHER.—The term
‘health researcher’ means a person who, with
respect to a specific item of protected health in-
formation, receives or creates the information
while acting in whole or in part in the capacity
of—
‘‘(i) a person conducting a biomedical,
epidemiological, or health services research
or statistics project, or a research project
on behavioral and social factors affecting
health; or
‘‘(ii) an officer or employee of a per-
son described in clause (i).
‘‘(G) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ includes
an authority of the United States, a State, or
a political subdivision of a State.
‘‘(H) 
PROTECTED
HEALTH
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘protected health information’
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means any information, whether oral or re-
corded in any form or medium—
‘‘(i) that is created or received in a
State by—
‘‘(I) a health care provider;
‘‘(II) a health benefit plan spon-
sor;
‘‘(III) a health oversight agency;
or
‘‘(IV) a public health authority;
‘‘(ii) that relates in any way to the
past, present, or future physical or mental
health or condition or functional status of
a protected individual, the provision of
health care to a protected individual, or
payment for the provision of health care to
a protected individual; and
‘‘(iii) that—
‘‘(I) identifies the individual; or
‘‘(II) with respect to which there
is a reasonable basis to believe that
the information can be used to iden-
tify the individual.
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‘‘(I) PROTECTED INDIVIDUAL.—The term
‘protected individual’ means an individual who,
with respect to a date—
‘‘(i) is living on the date; or
‘‘(ii) has died within the 2-year period
ending on the date.
‘‘(J) PUBLIC
HEALTH
AUTHORITY.—The
term ‘public health authority’ means a person
who, with respect to a specific item of protected
health information, receives or creates the infor-
mation while acting in whole or in part in the
capacity of—
‘‘(i) an authority of the United States,
a State, or a political subdivision of a
State that is responsible for public health
matters;
‘‘(ii) a person acting under the direc-
tion of such an authority; or
‘‘(iii) an officer or employee of a per-
son described in clause (i) or (ii).
‘‘(K) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ includes
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Vir-
gin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Northern Mariana Islands.’’.
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