I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 580
To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act and title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require that
group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans
provide comprehensive coverage for childhood immunization.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 13, 2001
Mr. GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined 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
and title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 to require that group and individual health
insurance coverage and group health plans provide com-
prehensive coverage for childhood immunization.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Insur-
ance Coverage of Childhood Immunization Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE FOR CHILDHOOD IM-
MUNIZATION BY GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND
HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUERS.
(a) GROUP HEALTH PLANS.—
(1) PUBLIC
HEALTH
SERVICE
ACT
AMEND-
MENTS.—Subpart 2 of part A of title XXVII of the
Public Health Service Act is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2707. STANDARD RELATING TO COVERAGE OF CHILD-
HOOD IMMUNIZATION.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan, and a
health insurance issuer offering group health insurance
coverage, shall provide for each plan year comprehensive
coverage for routine immunizations for each individual
who is a dependent of a participant or beneficiary under
the plan and is under 19 years of age.
‘‘(b) COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE.—For purposes of
this section, comprehensive coverage for routine immuni-
zations for a plan year consists of coverage, without
deductibles, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing, for immu-
nizations (including the vaccine itself) in accordance with
the most recent version of the Recommended Childhood
Immunization Schedule issued prior to such plan year by
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.’’.
(2) ERISA AMENDMENTS.—(A) Subpart B of
part 7 of subtitle B of title I of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 714. STANDARD RELATING TO COVERAGE OF CHILD-
HOOD IMMUNIZATION.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan, and a
health insurance issuer offering group health insurance
coverage, shall provide for each plan year comprehensive
coverage for routine immunizations for each individual
who is a dependent of a participant or beneficiary under
the plan and is under 19 years of age.
‘‘(b) COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE.—For purposes of
this section, comprehensive coverage for routine immuni-
zations for a plan year consists of coverage, without
deductibles, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing, for immu-
nizations (including the vaccine itself) in accordance with
the most recent version of the Recommended Childhood
Immunization Schedule issued prior to such plan year by
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.’’.
(B) The table of contents in section 1 of such
Act is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 713 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 714. Standard relating to coverage of childhood immunization.’’.
(b) INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE.—Part B of
title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act is amended
by inserting after section 2752 the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 2753. STANDARD RELATING COVERAGE OF CHILD-
HOOD IMMUNIZATION.
‘‘The provisions of section 2707 shall apply to health
insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer
in the individual market in the same manner as they apply
to health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance
issuer in connection with a group health plan in the small
or large group market.’’.
SEC. 3. COORDINATION OF ADMINISTRATION.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
Secretary of Labor shall ensure, through the execution of
an interagency memorandum of understanding among
such Secretaries, that—
(1) regulations, rulings, and interpretations
issued by such Secretaries relating to the same mat-
ter over which both such Secretaries have responsi-
bility under the provisions of this Act (and the
amendments made thereby) are administered so as
to have the same effect at all times; and
(2) coordination of policies relating to enforcing
the same requirements through such Secretaries in
order to have a coordinated enforcement strategy
that avoids duplication of enforcement efforts and
assigns priorities in enforcement.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATES.
(a) GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND GROUP HEALTH IN-
SURANCE COVERAGE.—Subject to subsection (c), the
amendments made by section 2(a) apply with respect to
group health plans for plan years beginning on or after
January 1, 2002.
(b) INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE.—
The amendment made by section 2(b) applies with respect
to health insurance coverage offered, sold, issued, re-
newed, in effect, or operated in the individual market on
or after such date.
(c) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING EXCEPTION.—In the
case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to 1 or
more collective bargaining agreements between employee
representatives and 1 or more employers ratified before
the date of enactment of this Act, the amendments made
section 2(a) shall not apply to plan years beginning before
the later of—
(1) the earliest date as of which all such collec-
tive bargaining agreements relating to the plan have
terminated (determined without regard to any exten-
sion thereof agreed to after the date of enactment of
this Act), or
(2) January 1, 2002.
For purposes of paragraph (1), any plan amendment made
pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement relating to
the plan which amends the plan solely to conform to any
requirement added by section 2(a) shall not be treated as
a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.
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