Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019
Latest action · Mar 27, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
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.
- IntroducedMar 26, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019
This bill revises various requirements for private health insurance plans and associated plan-holder cost sharing. Specifically, the bill increases premium assistance for low-income households and specifies that the coverage affordability requirements for employer-sponsored plans extend to family members of employees based on the employee's required contribution as a percentage of the employee's income.
Further, the bill prohibits specified agency actions that would weaken the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) with respect to (1) association health plans; (2) short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans; and (3) state applications to waive certain PPACA provisions. The bill also increases the minimum coverage requirements for private health insurance plans and requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promote the availability of such plans. The health coverage navigator program also is revised to prioritize community and consumer-focused nonprofits and facilitate enrollment in federally supported insurance programs such as Medicaid. The bill establishes a fund for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide cost assistance to individuals who are enrolled in qualified health plans.
Additionally, the bill provides new and additional grant funding for states to (1) plan and establish health insurance exchanges, (2) provide consumer assistance about available health insurance plans and coverage, and (3) increase health insurance plan enrollment. HHS also must report on the annual expenditure of user fees collected through federally facilitated exchanges.
Cosponsors 162
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 26, 2019 to Oct 1, 2020; 78 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-AZ | Ann Kirkpatrick | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NY | Antonio Delgado | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Original | Mar 26, 2019 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Mar 26, 2019 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 27, 2019 | |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Mar 26, 2019 |
| Health Subcommittee | Referred Mar 26, 2019 | |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Mar 26, 2019 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 27, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Mar 26, 2019Introduced in House
- Mar 26, 2019Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Mar 26, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
In the Congressional Record 5
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3119 | Debbie Mucarsel-Powell D-FL | Apr 8, 2019 |
| House | Debate and remarks H2946, H2947, H2968, H2976–H2980 | Angie Craig D-MN, David N. Cicilline D-RI, Derek Kilmer D-WA, Donald M. Payne, Jr. D-NJ, James E. Clyburn D-SC, John Garamendi D-CA, Joseph D. Morelle D-NY, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Apr 2, 2019 |
| House | Debate and remarks H2935 | Debbie Mucarsel-Powell D-FL | Apr 1, 2019 |
| House | Debate and remarks H2835 | Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Mar 27, 2019 |
| House | Debate and remarks H2805, H2806, H2820, H2821 | Ann M. Kuster D-NH, Donald M. Payne, Jr. D-NJ, John Garamendi D-CA, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Mar 26, 2019 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 52, March 26, 2019, page H2828.
Related bills 12
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 455 | MORE Health Education Act | Related bill | Feb 12, 2019 |
| S 466 | Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act of 2019 | Related bill | Feb 13, 2019 |
| HR 986 | Protecting Americans with Preexisting Conditions Act of 2019 | Related bill | May 15, 2019 |
| HR 987 | Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act | Related bill | May 20, 2019 |
| HR 1010 | To provide that the rule entitled "Short-Term, Limited Duration Insurance" shall have no force or effect. | Related bill | May 10, 2019 |
| HR 1385 | SAVE Act | Related bill | May 3, 2019 |
| HR 1386 | ENROLL Act of 2019 | Related bill | May 3, 2019 |
| HR 1425 | Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act | Related bill | Sep 8, 2020 |
| S 1556 | No Junk Plans Act | Related bill | May 21, 2019 |
| HR 1868 | Health Care Affordability Act of 2019 | Related bill | Mar 26, 2019 |
| HR 1870 | Family Health Care Affordability Act of 2019 | Related bill | Mar 26, 2019 |
| S 1905 | ENROLL Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jun 19, 2019 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to improve affordability of, undo sabotage with respect to, and increase access to health insurance coverage, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Appropriations
- Comprehensive health care
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Labor
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health care quality
- Health information and medical records
- Health programs administration and funding
- Income tax credits
- Insurance industry and regulation
- Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
- Prescription drugs
- Research administration and funding
- Small business
- State and local finance
- State and local government operations
- Tax treatment of families
- User charges and fees
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 26, 2019Introduced in House
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.
