Akron Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, U.S. Representative Emilia Strong Sykes (OH-13) voted ‘no’ on House Republicans’ H.R. 3799, which would undermine patient protections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and state insurance law. 

“I voted against H.R. 3799 because this legislation will harm the health of people in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District,” said Rep. Sykes. “This partisan legislation would weaken consumer protections, increase costs for patients, and limit access to crucial health services. Instead of jamming through legislation that raises healthcare costs for Americans and makes it easier for corporations to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, Congress should build on the foundation of the Affordable Care Act to ensure every American has quality, affordable health care.”

H.R. 3799 would loosen the definition of association health plans, allowing more employers to establish plans that evade Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements to cover essential health benefits and participate in market-wide risk pools. Specifically, H.R. 3799 would allow employers to offer individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs), which will cause some workers to lose access to more affordable, subsidized Marketplace coverage. Employers could only offer ICHRAs to certain employees, like hourly and older workers, but not high-ranking executives, thus leading to higher health care costs and less generous coverage. A Brookings analysis found that allowing employers to offer ICHRAs alongside traditional group health insurance could increase Marketplace premiums by 16% to 93%.

H.R. 3799 would also allow employer health plans to avoid the ACA requirement that insured plans cover essential health benefits, which could result in employers discriminating against certain types of employees such as those with preexisting conditions.

H.R. 3799 passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate.

Original source can be found here.