I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6411 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, title 
XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to require group health plans and health insurance issuers 
offering group or individual health insurance coverage to provide notices 
relating to prescription drug refills to individuals covered under such 
plans or coverage who reside in emergency areas during emergency peri-
ods. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2020 
Mrs. MCBATH (for herself and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and 
Education and Labor, 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 committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974, title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act, 
and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require group 
health plans and health insurance issuers offering group 
or individual health insurance coverage to provide notices 
relating to prescription drug refills to individuals covered 
under such plans or coverage who reside in emergency 
areas during emergency periods. 
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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 ‘‘Emergency Advance 
Refill Notification Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIRING PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFILL NOTIFI-
CATIONS DURING EMERGENCIES. 
(a) ERISA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part 7 of sub-
title B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1185 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘SEC. 716. PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFILL NO-
TIFICATIONS DURING EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan, and a 
health insurance issuer offering health insurance coverage 
in connection with a group health plan, that provides bene-
fits for prescription drugs under such plan or such cov-
erage shall provide to each participant or beneficiary 
under such plan or such coverage who resides in an emer-
gency area during an emergency period— 
‘‘(1) not later than 5 business days after the 
date of the beginning of such period with respect to 
such area (or, the case of the emergency period de-
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scribed in section 2(d)(2) of the Emergency Advance 
Refill Notification Act of 2020, not later than 5 
business days after the date of the enactment of this 
section), a notification (written in a manner that is 
clear and understandable to the average participant 
or beneficiary)— 
‘‘(A) of whether such plan or coverage will 
waive, during such period with respect to such 
a participant or beneficiary, any time restric-
tions under such plan or coverage on any au-
thorized refills for such drugs to enable such re-
fills in advance of when such refills would oth-
erwise have been permitted under such plan or 
coverage; and 
‘‘(B) in the case that such plan or coverage 
will waive such restrictions during such period 
with respect to such a participant or bene-
ficiary, that contains information on how such 
a participant or beneficiary may obtain such a 
refill; and 
‘‘(2) in the case such plan or coverage elects to 
so waive such restrictions during such period with 
respect to such a participant or beneficiary after the 
notification described in paragraph (1) has been pro-
vided with respect to such period, not later than 5 
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business days after such election, a notification of 
such election that contains the information described 
in subparagraph (B) of such paragraph. 
‘‘(b) EMERGENCY AREA; EMERGENCY PERIOD.—For 
purposes of this section, an ‘emergency area’ is a geo-
graphical area in which, and an ‘emergency period’ is the 
period during which, there exists— 
‘‘(1) an emergency or disaster declared by the 
President pursuant to the National Emergencies Act 
or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act; and 
‘‘(2) a public health emergency declared by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Public 
Health Service Act.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974 is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 714 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 715. Additional market reforms. 
‘‘Sec. 716. Provision of prescription drug refill notifications during emer-
gencies.’’. 
(b) PHSA.—Subpart II of part A of title XXVII of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–11 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
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‘‘SEC. 2730. PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFILL 
NOTIFICATIONS DURING EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan, and a 
health insurance issuer offering group or individual health 
insurance coverage, that provides benefits for prescription 
drugs under such plan or such coverage shall provide to 
each participant, beneficiary, or enrollee enrolled under 
such plan or such coverage who resides in an emergency 
area during an emergency period— 
‘‘(1) not later than 5 business days after the 
date of the beginning of such period with respect to 
such area (or, the case of the emergency period de-
scribed in section 2(d)(2) of the Emergency Advance 
Refill Notification Act of 2020, not later than 5 
business days after the date of the enactment of this 
section), a notification (written in a manner that is 
clear and understandable to the average participant, 
beneficiary, or enrollee)— 
‘‘(A) of whether such plan or coverage will 
waive, during such period with respect to such 
a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee, any time 
restrictions under such plan or coverage on any 
authorized refills for such drugs to enable such 
refills in advance of when such refills would 
otherwise have been permitted under such plan 
or coverage; and 
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‘‘(B) in the case that such plan or coverage 
will waive such restrictions during such period 
with respect to such a participant, beneficiary, 
or enrollee, that contains information on how 
such a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee may 
obtain such a refill; and 
‘‘(2) in the case such plan or coverage elects to 
so waive such restrictions during such period with 
respect to such a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee 
after the notification described in paragraph (1) has 
been provided with respect to such period, not later 
than 5 business days after such election, a notifica-
tion of such election that contains the information 
described in subparagraph (B) of such paragraph. 
‘‘(b) EMERGENCY AREA; EMERGENCY PERIOD.—For 
purposes of this section, an ‘emergency area’ is a geo-
graphical area in which, and an ‘emergency period’ is the 
period during which, there exists— 
‘‘(1) an emergency or disaster declared by the 
President pursuant to the National Emergencies Act 
or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act; and 
‘‘(2) a public health emergency declared by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 319.’’. 
(c) IRC.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 
100 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 9816. PROVISION OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFILL 
NOTIFICATIONS DURING EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan that pro-
vides benefits for prescription drugs under such plan shall 
provide to each participant or beneficiary enrolled under 
such plan who resides in an emergency area during an 
emergency period, not later than 5 business days after the 
date of the beginning of such period with respect to such 
area (or, the case of the emergency period described in 
section 2(d)(2) of the Emergency Advance Refill Notifica-
tion Act of 2020, not later than 5 business days after the 
date of the enactment of this section)— 
‘‘(1) a notification (written in a manner that is 
clear and understandable to the average participant 
or beneficiary)— 
‘‘(A) of whether such plan will waive, dur-
ing such period with respect to such a partici-
pant or beneficiary, any time restrictions under 
such plan on any authorized refills for such 
drugs to enable such refills in advance of when 
such refills would otherwise have been per-
mitted under such plan; and 
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‘‘(B) in the case that such plan will waive 
such restrictions during such period with re-
spect to such a participant or beneficiary, that 
contains information on how such a participant 
or beneficiary may obtain such a refill; and 
‘‘(2) in the case such plan elects to so waive 
such restrictions during such period with respect to 
such a participant or beneficiary after the notifica-
tion described in paragraph (1) has been provided 
with respect to such period, not later than 5 busi-
ness days after such election, a notification of such 
election that contains the information described in 
subparagraph (B) of such paragraph. 
‘‘(b) EMERGENCY AREA; EMERGENCY PERIOD.—For 
purposes of this section, an ‘emergency area’ is a geo-
graphical area in which, and an ‘emergency period’ is the 
period during which, there exists— 
‘‘(1) an emergency or disaster declared by the 
President pursuant to the National Emergencies Act 
or the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act; and 
‘‘(2) a public health emergency declared by the 
Secretary pursuant to section 319 of the Public 
Health Service Act.’’. 
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(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subchapter B of chapter 100 of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 
the end the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 9816. Provision of prescription drug refill notifications during emer-
gencies.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to— 
(1) emergency periods beginning on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act; and 
(2) the emergency period relating to the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319 
of the Public Health Service Act on January 31, 
2020, entitled ‘‘Determination that a Public Health 
Emergency Exists Nationwide as the Result of the 
2019 Novel Coronavirus’’. 
Æ 
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