Title: Protecting Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Act of 2021
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Protecting Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions Act of 2021
This bill nullifies specified guidance and final rule provisions pertaining to Section 1332 waivers (also known as State Innovation Waivers or State Relief and Empowerment Waivers) issued by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services. The provisions allow states to forego certain requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in order to implement experimental plans for health care coverage, as long as the resulting coverage meets certain statutory criteria.
The provisions, which supersede earlier guidance from 2015, alter agency interpretation of how states may satisfy the statutory criteria for waiver approval. For example, the provisions (1) redefine acceptable coverage under such waivers to include short-term, limited-duration insurance and association health plans; (2) allow the comprehensiveness and affordability of coverage under such waivers to be assessed based on projected availability, rather than enrollment; and (3) allow the level of coverage to be assessed based on the effects over the entire course of the waiver, rather than per year.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 779

To provide that certain rules and guidance related to waivers for State 
 innovation under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shall 
                        have no force or effect.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2021

  Mr. Warner (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
Carper, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Peters, Mr. Reed, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Kaine, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Smith, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. 
  Van Hollen, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Booker, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Lujan, Mr. 
Markey, Ms. Warren, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Casey, 
  Mrs. Murray, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Padilla) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide that certain rules and guidance related to waivers for State 
 innovation under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act shall 
                        have no force or effect.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Americans with Pre-
Existing Conditions Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PROVIDING THAT CERTAIN RULES AND GUIDANCE RELATED TO WAIVERS 
              FOR STATE INNOVATION UNDER THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND 
              AFFORDABLE CARE ACT SHALL HAVE NO FORCE OR EFFECT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 
Secretary of the Treasury may not take any action to implement, 
enforce, or otherwise give effect to the rules and guidance described 
in subsection (b), and no such rules and guidance shall have any force 
or effect.
    (b) Rules and Guidance.--The rules and guidance described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) The provisions in the final rule issued by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the 
        Treasury on January 19, 2021, relating to ``Updates to State 
        Innovation Waiver (Section 1332 Waiver) Implementing 
        Regulations'' (86 Fed. Reg. 6138).
            (2) The guidance issued by such Secretaries entitled 
        ``State Relief and Empowerment Waivers'' (83 Fed. Reg. 53575 
        (October 24, 2018)), or any other rule promulgated to give 
        effect to such guidance.
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