Health Care Options Act of 2017
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S2100-2101)
Health Care Options Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily permit certain individuals to use the premium assistance tax credit to purchase health insurance outside of an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PPACA).
The bill applies to individuals who reside in a rating area or county that the Department of Health and Human Services has certified has no qualified health plans offered through an exchange established under PPACA.
Individuals residing in the areas or counties may use the premium assistance tax credit through 2019 to enroll in a plan outside of an exchange if the plan is: (1) authorized by the state in which the taxpayer resides to be offered in the individual market, or (2) is a not-for-profit membership organization that is organized and authorized under state law to accept member contributions to fund health care benefits for members and their families.
The bill prohibits advance payments of the credit from being made with respect to the off-exchange plans and specifies reporting requirements for the plans.
Through 2019, the bill also exempts the individuals residing in the counties or areas from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage (commonly referred to as the individual mandate).
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 29, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 29, 2017: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2100-2101)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced it on March 29, 2017, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 29, 2017, 3452 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3452 days ago, on March 29, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers