Q: In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1986.

(a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 4980B(g)(1)(A) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ''or'' at the end thereof;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a
comma; and
(3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
''(iii) as the domestic partner of the
employee, as such term is defined by the group
health plan, or
''(iv) as the dependent child of the
domestic partner (as defined in clause
(iii)).''.
(b) Special Rule for Retirees and Widows.--Section 4980B(g)(1)(D)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking clauses (i)
through (iii), and inserting the following:
''(i) as the spouse or domestic partner
(described in subparagraph (A)(iii)) of the
covered employee,
''(ii) as the dependent child of the
covered employee or the covered employee's
domestic partner (described in clause (i)), or
''(iii) as the surviving spouse or
surviving domestic partner (described in clause
(i)) of the covered employee.''.
(c) Special Rule for Certain Bankruptcy Proceedings.--Section
4980B(f)(2)(B)(i)(III) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended
by striking ''or dependent children of the covered employee'' and
inserting '', surviving domestic partner (described in subsection
(g)(1)(A)(iii)), or dependent children of the covered employee or such
surviving domestic partner''.
(d) Qualifying Event.--Section 4980B(f)(3)(C) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before the period the
following: '', or the covered employee's domestic partner (described in
subsection (g)(1)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such covered employee's
domestic partner under the terms of the group health plan''.
(e) Notice Requirements.--Section 4980B(f)(6)(A) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ''and spouse of the
employee (if any)'' and inserting ''and, if any, such covered
employee's qualified beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT OF
1974.

(a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 607(3)(A) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(3)(A)) is
amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ''or'' at the end thereof;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a
comma; and
(3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
''(iii) as the domestic partner of the
employee, as such term is defined by the group
health plan, or
''(iv) as the dependent child of the
domestic partner (as defined in clause
(iii)).''.
(b) Special Rule for Retirees and Widows.--Section 607(3)(C) of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1167(3)(C))
is amended by striking clauses (i) through (iii) and inserting the
following:
''(i) as the spouse or domestic partner
(described in paragraph (3)(A)(iii)) of the
covered employee,
''(ii) as the dependent child of the
covered employee or the covered employee's
domestic partner (described in clause (i)), or
''(iii) as the surviving spouse or
surviving domestic partner (described in clause
(i)) of the covered employee.''.
(c) Special Rule for Certain Bankruptcy Proceedings.--Section
602(2)(A)(iii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(29 U.S.C. 1162(2)(A)(iii)) is amended by striking ''or dependent
children of the covered employee'' and inserting '', surviving domestic
partner (described in section 607(3)(A)(iii)), or dependent children of
the covered employee or such surviving domestic partner''.
(d) Qualifying Event.--Section 603(3) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1163) is amended by inserting
before the period the following: '', or the covered employee's domestic
partner (described in section 607(3)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such
covered employee's domestic partner under the terms of the group health
plan''.
(e) Notice Requirements.--Section 606(a)(1) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1166(a)(1)) is
amended by striking ''and spouse of the employee (if any)'' and
inserting ''and, if any, such covered employee's qualified
beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

(a) Qualified Beneficiary.--Section 2208(3)(A) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-8(3)(A)) is amended--
(1) in clause (i), by striking ''or'' at the end thereof;
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period and inserting a
comma; and
(3) by inserting after clause (ii), the following:
''(iii) as the domestic partner of the
employee, as such term is defined by the group
health plan, or
''(iv) as the dependent child of the
domestic partner (as defined in clause
(iii)).''.
(b) Qualifying Event.--Section 2203(3) of the Public Health Service
Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-3(3)) is amended by inserting before the period
the following: '', or the covered employee's domestic partner
(described in section 2208(3)(A)(iii)) ceasing to be such covered
employee's domestic partner under the terms of the group health plan''.
(c) Notice Requirements.--Section 2206(1) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300bb-6(1)) is amended by striking ''and spouse
of the employee (if any)'' and inserting ''and, if any, such covered
employee's qualified beneficiaries who are age 19 or older''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to plan years
beginning after 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Special Rule for Collective Bargaining Agreements.--In the case
of a group health plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective
bargaining agreements between employee representatives and one or more
employers ratified before the date of the enactment of this Act, the
amendments made by this Act shall not apply to plan years beginning
before the earlier of--
(1) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining
agreements relating to the plan terminates (determined without
regard to any extension thereof agreed to after the date of the
enactment of this Act); or
(2) 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
For purposes of paragraph (1), any plan amendment made pursuant to a
collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan which amends the
plan solely to conform to any requirement added by this Act shall not
be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.
A:
Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and Public Health Service Act to expandCOBRA coverage (health insurance continuation benefits) to include an employee's domestic partner and any dependent child of the domestic partner.