Health Care Conscience Rights Act
Latest action · Aug 4, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedAug 4, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Health Care Conscience Rights Act
Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in that title requires an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering coverage excluding such item or service to that individual.
Denies that title I requires a health plan sponsor or a health insurance issuer to cover an item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection.
Denies also that title I authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, on health insurance coverage that excludes such an item or service.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, or health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities.
Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition.
Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
Cosponsors 25
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Aug 4, 2015 to Jun 13, 2016; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NE | Ben Sasse | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-LA | Bill Cassidy | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-TN | Bob Corker | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-IN | Daniel Coats | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-OK | James M. Inhofe | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-KS | Jerry Moran | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-AZ | John McCain | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-GA | Johnny Isakson | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-OH | Rob Portman | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-MO | Roy Blunt | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-MT | Steve Daines | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Original | Aug 4, 2015 |
| R-MS | Thad Cochran | Aug 6, 2015 | |
| R-SC | Tim Scott | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| R-WY | John Barrasso | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| R-SD | John Thune | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| R-ID | James E. Risch | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| R-UT | Orrin G. Hatch | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| R-NC | Thom Tillis | Nov 9, 2015 | |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Nov 30, 2015 | |
| R-FL | Marco Rubio | Dec 3, 2015 | |
| R-UT | Mike Lee | Dec 9, 2015 | |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Feb 22, 2016 | |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Jun 13, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Aug 4, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 4, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Aug 4, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 940 | Health Care Conscience Rights Act | Related bill | Feb 27, 2015 |
| HR 3020 | Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 | Related bill | Jul 10, 2015 |
| HR 5926 | Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017 | Related bill | Jul 22, 2016 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to protect rights of conscience with regard to requirements for coverage of specific items and services, to amend the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain abortion-related discrimination in governmental activities, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Health Care Conscience Rights Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Abortion
- Civil actions and liability
- Comprehensive health care
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health personnel
- Health programs administration and funding
- Legal fees and court costs
- Medical education
- Religion
- Sales and excise taxes
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 4, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
