Living Donor Protection Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-511
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-02-14
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Disability and health-based discrimination

Disability assistance

Employee leave

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Government information and archives

Health care costs and insurance

Health care coverage and access

Health information and medical records

Life, casualty, property insurance

Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care

Organ and tissue donation and transplantation

Surgery and anesthesia
Latest action: action_date: 2019-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-02-14
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Living Donor Protection Act of </b><b>2019</b></p> <p>This bill prohibits discrimination based on an individual's status as a living organ donor in the offering, issuance, cancellation, coverage, price, or any other condition of a life-insurance policy, disability-insurance policy, or long-term-care insurance policy.</p> <p>The bill also specifically includes recovery from organ-donation surgery as a serious health condition that entitles covered private-sector and federal civil-service employees to medical leave.</p> <p>The Department of Health and Human Services must update public-service announcements, websites, and other media regarding live organ donation to educate the public on the benefits of live organ donation and on access to insurance for living organ donors. </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 511 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 14, 2019 Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Cotton ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To promote and protect from discrimination living organ donors.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Living Donor Protection Act of 2019 . 2. Prohibition on denial of coverage or increase in premiums of life or disability insurance for living organ donors (a) Prohibition Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful to— (1) decline or limit coverage of a person under any life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy, due to the status of such person as a living organ donor; (2) preclude a person from donating all or part of an organ as a condition of receiving a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy; (3) consider the status of a person as a living organ donor in determining the premium rate for coverage of such person under a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy; or (4) otherwise discriminate in the offering, issuance, cancellation, amount of such coverage, price, or any other condition of a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy for a person, based solely and without any additional actuarial risks upon the status of such person as a living organ donor. (b) Enforcement A State insurance regulator may take such actions to enforce subsection (a) as are specifically authorized under the laws of such State. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Disability insurance policy The term disability insurance policy means a contract under which an entity promises to pay a person a sum of money in the event that an illness or injury resulting in a disability prevents such person from working. (2) Life insurance policy The term life insurance policy means a contract under which an entity promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured. (3) Living organ donor The term living organ donor means an individual who has donated all or part of an organ and is not deceased. (4) Long-term care insurance policy The term long-term care insurance policy means a contract for which the only insurance protection provided under the contract is coverage of qualified long-term care services (as defined in section 7702B(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 3. Clarification of organ donation surgery as qualifying as a serious health condition under FMLA (a) Private sector employees Section 101(11) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 ( 29 U.S.C. 2611(11) ) is amended by inserting (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) after physical or mental condition . (b) Federal civil service employees (1) Definition Section 6381(5) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) after physical or mental condition . (2) Relationship to organ donor leave Section 6382(d) of title 5, United States Code is amended by adding at the end the following: An employee who takes any part of the 12-week period of leave under subsection (a)(1) to serve as an organ donor (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) shall substitute, for as much of that part as possible, any leave available to the employee under section 6327. . 4. Updating of educational materials on the benefits of live organ donation (a) Educational materials (1) Review and updating Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary ) shall review and update materials related to live organ donation in order to educate the public on— (A) the benefits of live organ donation; and (B) the impact of live organ donation on the access of a living organ donor to insurance. (2) Information on statutory changes Such updating shall include information on the changes made by sections 2 and 3 of this Act. (b) Methods of updating In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall update, as appropriate— (1) Public Service Announcements previously provided by the Secretary; (2) publicly accessible websites (such as organdonor.gov, or a successor website) that are maintained by the Secretary and that contain information and resources regarding live organ donation; and (3) other media determined appropriate by the Secretary.