I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6810 
To establish a Health Care Protection Program Fund to provide grants 
to employers to ensure continuity of coverage under a group health 
plan through the COVID–19 pandemic, to provide for premium assist-
ance for COBRA benefits, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2020 
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois (for himself, Mr. SCHRADER, Mrs. WAGNER, 
Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, and Ms. 
TORRES SMALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to 
the Committees on Energy and Commerce, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a Health Care Protection Program Fund to 
provide grants to employers to ensure continuity of cov-
erage under a group health plan through the COVID– 
19 pandemic, to provide for premium assistance for 
COBRA 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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Care Protection 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the COVID–19 pandemic has caused many 
individuals to lose access to employer-sponsored 
health insurance at no fault of their own; 
(2) individuals should not be forced to cover ad-
ditional costs associated with healthcare due to a 
loss of access to employer-sponsored health insur-
ance; 
(3) employers should utilize all tools provided to 
them by the Federal Government to bring individ-
uals back onto payroll so that they may receive bene-
fits such as employer-sponsored health insurance; 
and 
(4) individuals unable to rejoin the workforce 
should receive assistance equal to that received while 
employed so that when an employer makes an offer 
of employment, the individual does not have an in-
centive to reject. 
SEC. 3. AMERICAN HEALTH EXCHANGES SPECIAL ENROLL-
MENT PERIOD. 
Section 1311(c)(6) of the Patient Protection and Af-
fordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18031(c)(6)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking at the end 
‘‘and’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking at the end 
the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(E) a special enrollment period during the 
30-day period following the date of the enact-
ment of this subparagraph during which any in-
dividual who is otherwise eligible to enroll in a 
qualified health plan through the Exchange and 
who is not otherwise enrolled in such a plan 
may enroll in such a qualified health plan.’’. 
SEC. 4. PREMIUM ASSISTANCE FOR COBRA BENEFITS. 
(a) PREMIUM ASSISTANCE FOR COBRA CONTINU-
ATION COVERAGE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR FAMI-
LIES.— 
(1) PROVISION OF PREMIUM ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) 
REDUCTION
OF
PREMIUMS
PAY-
ABLE.—In the case of any premium for a pe-
riod of coverage (not to exceed 6 months) be-
ginning on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and on or before January 1, 2021, 
for COBRA continuation coverage with respect 
to any assistance eligible individual, such indi-
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vidual shall be treated for purposes of any 
COBRA continuation provision as having paid 
the amount of such premium if such individual 
pays (or a person other than such individual’s 
employer pays on behalf of such individual) a 
percent of such premium such that the amount 
of such premium so paid is equal to the amount 
the covered employee with respect to such cov-
erage would have paid with respect to such indi-
vidual for such period for coverage under the 
group health plan under which such employee 
was enrolled at the time of the qualifying event 
had such event not occurred (as determined 
without regard to this subsection). 
(B) PLAN ENROLLMENT OPTION.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 
the COBRA continuation provisions, an as-
sistance eligible individual may, not later 
than 90 days after the date of notice of the 
plan enrollment option described in this 
subparagraph, elect to enroll in coverage 
under a plan offered by the employer in-
volved, or the employee organization in-
volved (including, for this purpose, a joint 
board of trustees of a multiemployer trust 
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affiliated with one or more multiemployer 
plans), that is different than coverage 
under the plan in which such individual 
was enrolled at the time the qualifying 
event occurred, and such coverage shall be 
treated as COBRA continuation coverage 
for purposes of the applicable COBRA con-
tinuation coverage provision. 
(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—An assistance 
eligible individual may elect to enroll in 
different coverage as described in clause (i) 
only if— 
(I) the employer involved has 
made a determination that such em-
ployer will permit assistance eligible 
individuals to enroll in different cov-
erage as provided for this subpara-
graph; 
(II) the premium for such dif-
ferent coverage does not exceed the 
premium for coverage in which the in-
dividual was enrolled at the time the 
qualifying event occurred; 
(III) the different coverage in 
which the individual elects to enroll is 
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coverage that is also offered to the ac-
tive employees of the employer at the 
time at which such election is made; 
and 
(IV) the different coverage is 
not— 
(aa) coverage that provides 
only dental, vision, counseling, or 
referral services (or a combina-
tion of such services); 
(bb) a flexible spending ar-
rangement (as defined in section 
106(c)(2) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986); or 
(cc) coverage that provides 
coverage for services or treat-
ments furnished in an on-site 
medical facility maintained by 
the employer and that consists 
primarily of first-aid services, 
prevention and wellness care, or 
similar care (or a combination of 
such care). 
(C) PREMIUM REIMBURSEMENT.—For pro-
visions providing the balance of such premium, 
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see section 6431 of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, as added by paragraph (12). 
(2) LIMITATION OF PERIOD OF PREMIUM AS-
SISTANCE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1)(A) shall 
not apply with respect to any assistance eligible 
individual for months of coverage beginning on 
or after the earlier of— 
(i) the first date that such individual 
is eligible for coverage under any other 
group health plan (other than coverage 
consisting of only dental, vision, coun-
seling, or referral services (or a combina-
tion thereof), coverage under a flexible 
spending arrangement (as defined in sec-
tion 106(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986), or coverage of treatment 
that is furnished in an on-site medical fa-
cility maintained by the employer and that 
consists primarily of first-aid services, pre-
vention and wellness care, or similar care 
(or a combination thereof)) or is eligible 
for benefits under title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act, or 
(ii) the earliest of— 
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(I) July 1, 2021, 
(II) the date following the expira-
tion of the maximum period of con-
tinuation coverage required under the 
applicable COBRA continuation cov-
erage provision, or 
(III) the date following the expi-
ration of the period of continuation 
coverage allowed under paragraph 
(4)(B)(ii). 
(B) TIMING
OF
ELIGIBILITY
FOR
ADDI-
TIONAL COVERAGE.—For purposes of subpara-
graph (A)(i), an individual shall not be treated 
as eligible for coverage under a group health 
plan before the first date on which such indi-
vidual could be covered under such plan. 
(C) 
NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—An 
assistance eligible individual shall notify in writ-
ing the group health plan with respect to which 
paragraph (1)(A) applies if such paragraph 
ceases to apply by reason of subparagraph 
(A)(i). Such notice shall be provided to the 
group health plan in such time and manner as 
may be specified by the Secretary of Labor. 
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(3) ASSISTANCE
ELIGIBLE
INDIVIDUAL.—For 
purposes of this section, the term ‘‘assistance eligible 
individual’’ means any qualified beneficiary if— 
(A) at any time during the period that be-
gins with March 1, 2020, and ends with De-
cember 31, 2020, such qualified beneficiary is 
eligible for COBRA continuation coverage, 
(B) such qualified beneficiary elects such 
coverage, and 
(C) the qualifying event with respect to the 
COBRA continuation coverage consists of the 
involuntary termination of the covered employ-
ee’s employment and occurred during such pe-
riod. 
(4) EXTENSION OF ELECTION PERIOD AND EF-
FECT ON COVERAGE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of apply-
ing section 605(a) of the Employee Retirement 
Income 
Security 
Act 
of 
1974, 
section 
4980B(f)(5)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, section 2205(a) of the Public Health 
Service Act, and section 8905a(c)(2) of title 5, 
United States Code, in the case of an individual 
who does not have an election of COBRA con-
tinuation coverage in effect on the date of the 
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enactment of this Act but who would be an as-
sistance eligible individual if such election were 
so in effect, such individual may elect the 
COBRA 
continuation 
coverage 
under 
the 
COBRA continuation coverage provisions con-
taining such sections during the period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act 
and ending 60 days after the date on which the 
notification required under paragraph (7)(C) is 
provided to such individual. 
(B) COMMENCEMENT
OF
COVERAGE; NO 
REACH-BACK.—Any COBRA continuation cov-
erage elected by a qualified beneficiary during 
an extended election period under subparagraph 
(A)— 
(i) shall commence with the first pe-
riod of coverage beginning on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and 
(ii) shall not extend beyond the period 
of COBRA continuation coverage that 
would have been required under the appli-
cable COBRA continuation coverage provi-
sion if the coverage had been elected as re-
quired under such provision. 
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(5) EXPEDITED REVIEW OF DENIALS OF PRE-
MIUM ASSISTANCE.—In any case in which an indi-
vidual requests treatment as an assistance eligible 
individual and is denied such treatment by the group 
health plan, the Secretary of Labor (or the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services in connection 
with COBRA continuation coverage which is pro-
vided other than pursuant to part 6 of subtitle B of 
title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974), in consultation with the Secretary of 
the Treasury, shall provide for expedited review of 
such denial. An individual shall be entitled to such 
review upon application to such Secretary in such 
form and manner as shall be provided by such Sec-
retary. Such Secretary shall make a determination 
regarding such individual’s eligibility within 15 busi-
ness days after receipt of such individual’s applica-
tion for review under this paragraph. Either Sec-
retary’s determination upon review of the denial 
shall be de novo and shall be the final determination 
of such Secretary. A reviewing court shall grant def-
erence to such Secretary’s determination. The provi-
sions of this paragraph, paragraphs (1) through (4), 
and paragraph (7) shall be treated as provisions of 
title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
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