(1) such preliminary and equitable relief as the
court determines to be appropriate; and
(2) the greater of compensatory damages or liq-
uidated damages of $5,000.
(b) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—In any action brought
under this section in which the individual has prevailed
because of a knowing violation of a provision of this Act,
the court may, in addition to any relief awarded under
subsection (a), award such punitive damages as may be
appropriate.
(c) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In the case of a civil action
brought under subsection (a) in which the individual has
substantially prevailed, the court may assess against the
respondent a reasonable attorney’s fee and other litigation
costs and expenses (including expert fees) reasonably in-
curred.
(d) LIMITATION.—No action may be commended
under this section more than 3 years after the date on
which the violation was or should reasonably have been
discovered.
SEC. 314. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, within 2
years following enactment of this Act, promulgate regula-
tions to develop alternative dispute resolution procedures
to resolve claims under section 314.
(b) METHODS OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLU-
TION.—The regulations promulgated under subsection (a)
may require that an individual, before filing a civil claim,
pursue at least one avenue of alternative dispute resolu-
tion, including—
(1) medication;
(2) arbitration; or
(3) the use of a process under which parties
make early offers of settlements.
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 401. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
(a) FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS.—Nothing in this
Act shall be construed as preempting, superseding, or re-
pealing, explicitly or implicitly, other Federal or State laws
or regulations relating to protected health information or
relating to an individual’s access to protected health infor-
mation or health care services, if such laws or regulations
provide protections for the rights of individuals to the pri-
vacy of, and access to, their health information that are
greater than those provided for in this Act.
(b) PRIVILEGES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued to preempt or modify any provisions of State statu-
tory or common law to the extent that such law concerns
a privilege of a witness or person in a court of that State.
This Act shall not be constructed to supersede or modify
any provision of Federal statutory or common law to the
extent such law concerns a privilege of a witness or person
in a court of the United States. Authorizations pursuant
to section 202 shall not be construed as a waiver of any
such privilege.
(c) CERTAIN DUTIES UNDER LAW.—Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to preempt, supersede, or modify
the operation of any State law that—
(1) provides for the reporting of vital statistics
such as birth or death information;
(2) requires the reporting of abuse or neglect
information about any individual;
(3) regulates the disclosure or reporting of in-
formation concerning an individual’s mental health;
or
(4) governs a minor’s rights to access protected
health information or health care services.
(d) FEDERAL PRIVACY ACT.—
(1) MEDICAL
EXEMPTIONS.—Section 552a of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(w) CERTAIN
PROTECTED
HEALTH
INFORMA-
TION.—The head of an agency that is a health care pro-
vider, health plan, health oversight agency, employer, in-
surer, health or life insurer, school or university, or person
who receives protected health information under section
204 of the Personal Medical Information Protection Act
shall promulgate rules, in accordance with the require-
ments (including general notice) of subsections (b)(1),
(b)(2), (b)(3), (c), (e) of section 553 of this title, to ex-
empt a system of records within the agency, to the extent
that the system of records contains protected health infor-
mation (as defined in section 4 of such Act), from all pro-
visions of this section except subsections (b)(6), (d),
(e)(1), (e)(2), subparagraphs (A) through (C) and (E)
through (I) of subsection (e)(4), and subsections (e)(5),
(e)(6), (e)(9), (e)(12), (l), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), and (u).’’.
(2) 
TECHNICAL
AMENDMENT.—Section
552a(f)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘pertaining to him,’’ and all that fol-
lows through the semicolon and inserting ‘‘per-
taining to the individual.’’
(e) CONSTITUTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to alter, diminish, or otherwise weaken existing
legal standards under the Constitution regarding the con-
fidentiality of protected health information.
SEC. 402. NOTIFICATION OF SENIORS.
The Secretary shall publish a pamphlet which ex-
plains the provisions of this Act and the resulting final
regulations in plain language as directed in the President’s
memorandum of June 1, 1998, to the heads of executive
departments and agencies (63 Federal Register 31885, 3
CFR 1998 Comp., p. 289) within 1 year from the effective
date. The secretary shall also ensure that the contents of
such pamphlet may be viewed and downloaded online free
of charge through the website of the Department of
Health and Human Services.
SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Unless specifically provided
for otherwise, this Act shall take effect on the date that
is 12 months after the date of the promulgation of the
regulations required under subsection (b), or 30 months
after the date of enactment of this Act, whichever is ear-
lier.
(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 12 months after
the date of enactment of this Act, or as specifically pro-
vided for otherwise, the Secretary shall promulgate regula-
tions implementing this Act.
Æ