Republicans in June introduced two sweeping proposals for replacing or augmenting the Affordable Care Act, as they seek to blaze a trail they say will be better for both employers and individual Americans.
Rep. Pete Sessions, (R-Texas) and Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-Louisiana), introduced H.R. 5284, which they call an “alternative” health care bill which will not repeal the ACA, but work alongside it and modify various parts of the system.
The so-called “Health Empowerment Liberty Plan” (HELP) includes conditions for helping Americans purchase health insurance, but also keeps in place ACA provisions that bar health insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing medical conditions.
And later in June, a Republican task force convened by House Speaker Paul Ryan introduced a proposal that was not in bill form that would completely eliminate the ACA.
HELP!
Here are the major provisions of the proposed HELP Act:
Individual mandate out – It would eliminate the individual mandate to be covered for insurance either through your job or by purchasing a health plan through a public insurance exchange.
Employer mandate out – It would eliminate the employer mandate, which is the requirement that employers with 50 or more full-time workers purchase affordable coverage for them.
Exchanges still okay – The bill would also allow states to decide if they want to opt in or out of the Affordable Care Act. States that elect to remain part of the ACA would be able to keep their marketplace exchanges and Medicaid expansion programs in place.
For states that decide to opt out, U.S. citizens, including Medicaid beneficiaries, would be eligible for a $2,500 per individual, $1,500 per child tax credit, to be used towards the cost of employer-sponsored health insurance, invested in a Roth Health Savings Account or received as an annual payment.
New tax – The HELP Act would limit the tax exclusion for employer health plans to $2,500 per employee, exposing companies and workers to taxes for insurance benefits above that threshold.
Oddly, Republicans have heavily criticized the ACA’s “Cadillac tax,” which seeks to tax at 40% the portion of any employer-provided health plan that costs more than $10,200 a year.
Small employer purchasing power – The measure would also allow small employers to band together to purchase health insurance. Small employers should be able to “offer health care coverage at lower prices through improved bargaining power at the negotiating table with insurers just as corporations and labor unions do,” according to the proposal.
Minimum essential benefits out – The bill would abolish federal minimum essential benefits – a hallmark of the ACA – though it would allow states to regulate coverage.
People could buy cheaper limited-benefit plans with an annual cap on benefits. Those who buy such plans would receive asset and wage protection if their medical bills exceeded certain thresholds.
Competition and transparency – It would also limit how much insurers could charge for out-of-network services, require providers and plans to disclose prices, and deregulate physician-owned facilities, freestanding surgery centers, and retail clinics.
The task force proposal
The health care reform proposal released by the House Republican task force convened by Speaker Ryan would entail a full repeal of the ACA.
The proposal, which is broad in scope and short on specifics, would include a transition period out of the ACA and into a new plan. It would eliminate the individual and employer mandate and instead encourage people to have insurance coverage with the help of refundable tax credits that would be adjusted for the recipient’s age.
It would encourage small group health plans and provide $25 billion in incentives to states to set up high-risk insurance pools.
In place of the ACA’s individual mandate, the plan would prohibit insurance companies from denying patients coverage or charging them more because of pre-existing conditions – but only if they keep continuous insurance coverage, although they could switch plans or carriers.
It would also allow young adults to stay on their parents’ health plans until age 26, which is one of the most popular pieces of the ACA.
Under the proposal, insurers would be allowed to sell across state lines and medical liability laws would be reformed.
