Additional health insurance options for unemployed Americans Act of 2009

Additional Health Insurance Options for Unemployed Americans Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, with respect to guaranteed availability of individual health insurance coverage for individuals with prior group plan coverage, to eliminate the requirement that such individuals have exhausted benefits under COBRA (health insurance continuation benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) or a similar state program after termination of employment.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4018 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4018

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide additional health 
             insurance options for unemployed individuals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 4, 2009

 Mr. Deal of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Buyer, Mr. Pitts, 
and Mr. Blunt) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide additional health 
             insurance options for unemployed individuals.

    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 ``Additional health insurance options 
for unemployed Americans Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR GUARANTEED AVAILABILITY 
              IN INDIVIDUAL MARKET.

    (a) In General.--Section 2741 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 300gg-41(b)) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``and section 2744'';
            (2) by repealing subsection (a)(2);
            (3) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``(1)(A)'' and inserting ``(1)''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``and (B)'' and all that follows up 
                to the semicolon at the end;
            (4) in subsection (b)(2), by adding ``and'' at the end;
            (5) in subsection (b)(3)--
                    (A) by striking ``(1)(A)'' and inserting ``(1)''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking the semicolon at the end and 
                inserting a period; and
            (6) in subsection (b) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5).
    (b) Treatment of Certain Breaks in Coverage.--Section 2701(c)(2)(A) 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following: ``For 
purposes of establishing the 63-day period, any time period between 
date of application for coverage and date of enrollment in non-group 
coverage shall not be counted.''
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall take effect not later than the date that is 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Clarification.--Nothing in this title shall prevent an employee 
from deciding whether to keep the health insurance coverage or group 
health plan benefits of the employee offered by the employer of the 
employee or to transition into the individual market under the 
protections afforded such employee pursuant to the amendments made by 
subsection (a).
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