I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4299 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services from limiting access to excepted benefits, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 18, 2015 
Mr. BLUM (for himself, Mr. KING of Iowa, and Mr. CHABOT) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to prevent the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services from limiting 
access to excepted benefits, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Patient Opportunity 
Protection Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF HOSPITAL INDEMNITY OR OTHER 
FIXED INDEMNITY INSURANCE AS EXCEPTED 
BENEFITS. 
Section 2763 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300gg–63) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The require-
ments of’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) HOSPITAL INDEMNITY OR OTHER FIXED 
INDEMNITY
INSURANCE.—In applying paragraph 
(1), the Secretary shall not take any action (by regu-
lation, guidance, policy statement, or otherwise) to 
require a hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity 
insurance (as described in section 2791(c)(3)(B)) to 
be treated as an excepted benefit only if the benefits 
of the hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity 
insurance are provided to an individual who— 
‘‘(A) has other health coverage that is min-
imum essential coverage within the meaning of 
section 5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue Code; 
or 
‘‘(B) is otherwise treated as having such 
minimum essential coverage.’’. 
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SEC. 3. NO ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR TREATMENT AS 
EXCEPTED BENEFIT. 
Section 2791 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300gg–91) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) NO ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS FOR TREATMENT 
AS EXCEPTED BENEFIT.—In applying subsection (c), the 
Secretary shall not impose any additional condition that 
must be satisfied in order for benefits (or any combination 
thereof) to be treated as excepted benefits, including any 
condition that to be an excepted benefit the benefits must 
be provided only to individuals who have other health in-
surance coverage that is major medical coverage or is min-
imum essential coverage within the meaning of section 
5000A(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by sections 2 and 3 shall take 
effect as if included in the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act (Public Law 111–148), and any final rule, 
guidance, policy statement, or other action taken by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services that is incon-
sistent with such amendments is null and void. 
Æ 
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