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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9470 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9470
To ensure the privacy of pregnancy termination or loss information
under the HIPAA privacy regulations and the HITECH Act.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2026
Ms. Jacobs (for herself and Ms. McClellan) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure the privacy of pregnancy termination or loss information
under the HIPAA privacy regulations and the HITECH Act.
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 ``Secure Access for Essential
Reproductive Health Act of 2026'' or the ``SAFER Health Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. ENSURING THE PRIVACY OF PREGNANCY TERMINATION OR LOSS
INFORMATION UNDER THE HIPAA PRIVACY REGULATIONS AND THE
HITECH ACT.
(a) In General.--
(1) Prohibition on disclosure.--Subject to paragraph (2)
and notwithstanding any regulations promulgated pursuant to
section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 note; Public Law
104-191), a covered entity or a business associate of a covered
entity may not disclose pregnancy termination or loss
information of an individual in Federal, State, local, or
Tribal proceedings, including civil, criminal, administrative,
legislative, or other proceedings, without the valid
authorization of the individual made in accordance with section
164.508 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (or a
successor regulation).
(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case
of a disclosure of pregnancy termination or loss information of
an individual by a covered entity or a business associate of a
covered entity if--
(A) the pregnancy termination or loss information
is necessary for use in defense of a professional
liability action or proceeding against the covered
entity or business associate and the pregnancy
termination or loss information is disclosed by--
(i) the covered entity or business
associate to the covered entity's or business
associate's attorney or professional liability
insurer or insurer's agent; or
(ii) the authorized attorney of the covered
entity or business associate to a court or body
hearing the action or proceeding; or
(B)(i) the pregnancy termination or loss
information is necessary to investigate physical harm
to the individual by another person directly relating
to the loss or termination of the pregnancy; and
(ii) the individual is unable to provide consent
due to death or incapacity.
(b) HITECH.--
(1) Privacy exception.--The Secretary shall revise section
171.202 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, to clarify
that an entity's practice of not fulfilling a request to
access, exchange, or use electronic health information in order
to comply with subsection (a) shall not be considered
information blocking (as defined in section 171.103 of title
45, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation)) if
the information is pregnancy termination or loss information.
(2) Greater security.--The Secretary shall revise section
170.401 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, to require
that as a condition of certification (as described in that
section), a health IT developer (as so described) shall
implement practices that allow for the segregation of data
relating to pregnancy termination or loss information to ensure
compliance with subsection (a).
(c) Preemption; Modification of State Preemption Exceptions.--
(1) Preemption.--
(A) In general.--This section shall preempt any
State law to the extent that the State law conflicts
with or prevents application of this section.
(B) Effect.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be
construed to preempt a State law to the extent that the
State law provides greater privacy protections for
pregnancy termination or loss information than provided
under this section.
(2) Modification.--The Secretary shall revise section
160.203 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, to ensure
that no exception to the general preemption rule stated in that
section applies with respect to pregnancy termination or loss
information other than the exception described in paragraph
(1)(B).
(d) Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct an outreach campaign to
ensure that covered entities, business associates of covered entities,
the public, and affected individuals are aware of the requirements of
this section and any revisions to regulations made pursuant to this
section.
(e) Procedure.--
(1) Interim final rule.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise each
regulation as required by this section through publication of
an interim final rule in the Federal Register.
(2) Final rule.--Not later than 270 days after the date on
which an interim final rule is published under paragraph (1),
the Secretary, after providing opportunity for public comment,
shall publish in the Federal Register a final rule with such
modifications as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) HIPAA terms.--The terms ``business associate'',
``covered entity'', and ``protected health information'' have
the meanings given those terms in section 160.103 of title 45,
Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation).
(2) Pregnancy termination or loss information.--The term
``pregnancy termination or loss information'' means protected
health information of an individual that relates to information
that could reveal having or seeking an abortion or care for
pregnancy loss, including, without limitation, any request for,
or receipt of, items, services, education, counseling, or
referrals relating to the termination or loss of a pregnancy of
the individual, including abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth,
and ectopic pregnancy.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
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