Members of the U.S. House voted 220-209 Wednesday to pass an expanded version of H.R. 3799 — a bill that could support employer efforts to give workers cash they can use to buy their own individual coverage.
The Custom Health Option and Individual Care Expense (CHOICE) Arrangement Act bill would add a cash-for-coverage provision to the Internal Revenue Code. The provision would be similar to the federal regulations that already let employers offer individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs).
Supporters say H.R. 3799 would increase employer comfort with cash-for-coverage programs based on a health reimbursement arrangement framework because employers might see a federal law blessing an HRA-based approach as more stable than the existing ICHRA regulation.
When the House Rules Committee packaged H.R. 3799 for action on the House floor, it combined the original language with other group health benefits provisions.
What It Means
Increased federal support for HRA-based cash-for-coverage arrangements could help lure health insurers, and financial professionals back into the individual health insurance market.
Some Democrats have supported past efforts to let employers use HRAs to provide cash for individual coverage.
But the expanded version of H.R. 3799 looks as if it will have a harder time reaching the Senate floor than a stand-alone cash-for-coverage bill.
H.R. 3799
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., introduced H.R. 3799. The bill has no Democratic co-sponsors.
