Letting Consumers Keep Their Preferred Health Insurance Plan (H.R. 3522)

What is H.R. 3522?

(Updated July 18, 2017)

This bill would allow health insurance issuers that were offering coverage on the market in 2013 to continue doing so throughout 2014. More importantly, H.R. 3522 would give issuers the option to continue offering coverage out of the health care exchanges established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Argument in favor

Gives those in need of health care the option to keep the insurance plans they had before the ACA by grandfathering them into 2014. People would not be forced to sign up for new possibly inferior insurance plans.

Argument opposed

Allows insurance companies to discriminate against individual consumers with pre-existing conditions. Could lead to raised premiums on small businesses whenever employees require serious healthcare.

Impact

People who haven’t purchased a mandated ACA insurance policy, insurance providers, health exchange markets, hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Cost of H.R. 3522

A CBO cost estimate is not available.

Additional Info

Of Note:

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been in place for almost four years. While, it is beginning to show some positive results as health care costs grow at historically low rates, the health care program is still getting the kinks out. Those kinks are most significant in the state health insurance exchanges where Americans are mandated to buy insurance policies. Still causing confusion and outrage, these exchanges have irritated those who feel like they were forced to drop their old reliable policies in favor of new, less comprehensive, more expensive ones.

Sponsoring Rep. Bill Cassidy pointed out that the ACA mandate has forced thousands of individuals to give up their preferred health insurance plans:

Media:

Sponsoring Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Press Release

(Photo Credit: Flickr user Mike Licht)