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House|Senate

113th Congress, Vote 495; House of Representatives #3522

Employee Health Care Protection Act of 2013


Official Title: To authorize health insurance issuers to continue to offer for sale current group health insurance coverage in satisfaction of the minimum essential health insurance coverage requirement, and for other purposes.

HR 3522: Employee Health Care Protection Act of 2013 (and 2014)
Passed by the House September 11, 2014, 247-167 (17 abstaining).

Synopsis: This bill would allow – but not require – small group health insurance plans in existence in 2013 to continue to be offered for sale (outside the SHOP exchanges) until December 31, 2018, five years longer than allowed under the ACA.

These plans would be considered minimum essential coverage, so enrollees would be in compliance with the individual mandate and would not be subject to penalties under the ACA.

In addition, such plans would be considered grandfathered under the ACA, meaning they could continue in force indefinitely as long as no substantial changes are made to the plan.

The ACA instituted a variety of reforms in the small group (fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees) insurance market, most of which were scheduled to take effect January 1, 2014. Small group plans not compliant with the ACA’s requirements could no longer be sold after December 31, 2013, and grandfathered status only applied to plans that were already in force when the ACA was signed into law on March 23, 2010.

Ultimately, in the fall of 2013, HHS agreed to allow existing non-grandfathered health plans to be renewed into 2014 at state and carrier discretion, and that provision was extended again in March 2014. But this transitional provision didn’t go nearly as far as HR 3522, since it didn’t allow for the sale of non-compliant policies after December 31, 2013, and it didn’t confer grandfathered status to 2013 plans.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • Although President Obama repeatedly said “if you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan,” there were numerous factors that ultimately made that a tough promise to keep. Supporters of HR 3522 note that the legislation would make it easier for people to keep their existing group coverage, at least for the next several years.
  • Allowing carriers to continue to offer non-compliant small group plans would keep premiums for those policies lower than premiums would otherwise be if all plans had to become ACA-compliant.
  • The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that HR 3522 would increase federal revenue by a total of $1.25 billion over the fiscal years 2015 to 2024. This is due to the fact that a slightly higher portion of employee compensation would go to taxable wages, and a slightly lower portion would go to pre-tax health insurance premiums. Obviously this can be seen as a drawback too, since the increased federal revenues are a result of higher total tax amounts.
  • ACA opponents generally support HR 3522 as they view it as a path towards repealing the law, or dismantling it part by part.

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • Although HR 3522 was introduced in late 2013, it wasn’t approved by the House until September 2014. By that time, carriers in the small group market had been selling new ACA-compliant health plans for almost nine months; it was unlikely that they’d be willing to go back and start selling their old plans again, potentially undercutting their new ACA-compliant market.
  • The bill was ostensibly marketed in response to the uproar in late 2013 surrounding the President’s promise that “if you like your health plan, you can keep it.” But nothing in the bill requires insurers to renew health plans that were scheduled for cancellation in late 2013, or to revive health plans that had already been cancelled prior to the bill’s passage in 2014.
  • Allowing the sale of non-compliant health plans in 2014 and beyond would essentially eliminate some of the most important provisions of the ACA, including the ban on utilizing a group’s health status when setting rates, and the requirement that all small group plans cover the ACA’s ten essential benefits.
  • Healthier groups would be more likely to enroll in non-compliant health plans, while groups with older or less healthy members would be more likely to enroll in ACA-compliant plans. The expected result is that premiums for ACA-compliant small group plans would be slightly higher if HR 3522 were enacted.
  • The CBO estimated that in 2016, two million people would enroll in small group health insurance plans that were not compliant with the ACA if HR 3522 were enacted. That’s two million people who wouldn’t have access to the full range of consumer protections offered under the ACA (total enrollment would be unlikely to change, but the mix of enrollees in compliant versus non-compliant plans would be impacted).
09/11/2014 Status: House passed

More: select a member to see his or her other key health care votes.

Yes (247)
R Don Young AK
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Spencer Bachus AL
R Mo Brooks AL
R Bradley Byrne AL
R Martha Roby AL
R Mike Rogers AL
R Tom Cotton AR
R Eric Crawford AR
R Tim Griffin AR
R Steve Womack AR
D Ron Barber AZ
R Trent Franks AZ
R Paul Gosar AZ
R Matt Salmon AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
D Kyrsten Sinema AZ
D Ami Bera CA
D Julia Brownley CA
R John Campbell CA
R Paul Cook CA
R Jeff Denham CA
R Duncan Hunter CA
R Darrell Issa CA
R Doug LaMalfa CA
R Kevin McCarthy CA
R Tom McClintock CA
R Howard McKeon CA
R Gary Miller CA
R Devin Nunes CA
D Scott Peters CA
R Dana Rohrabacher CA
R Edward Royce CA
R David Valadao CA
R Mike Coffman CO
R Cory Gardner CO
R Doug Lamborn CO
R Scott Tipton CO
R Gus Bilirakis FL
R Vern Buchanan FL
R Curtis Clawson FL
R Ander Crenshaw FL
R Ron DeSantis FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
D Joe Garcia FL
R David Jolly FL
R John Mica FL
R Jeff Miller FL
D Patrick Murphy FL
R Richard Nugent FL
R Bill Posey FL
R Thomas Rooney FL
R Ileana Ros-Lehtinen FL
R Dennis Ross FL
R Steve Southerland FL
R Daniel Webster FL
R Ted Yoho FL
D John Barrow GA
R Paul Broun GA
R Doug Collins GA
R Phil Gingrey GA
R Tom Graves GA
R Jack Kingston GA
R Tom Price GA
R Austin Scott GA
R Lynn Westmoreland GA
R Rob Woodall GA
D Colleen Hanabusa HI
R Tom Latham IA
D David Loebsack IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
D Cheri Bustos IL
R Rodney Davis IL
D William Enyart IL
D Bill Foster IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
R Peter Roskam IL
D Bradley Schneider IL
R Aaron Schock IL
R John Shimkus IL
R Susan Brooks IN
R Larry Bucshon IN
R Luke Messer IN
R Todd Rokita IN
R Marlin Stutzman IN
R Jackie Walorski IN
R Todd Young IN
R Tim Huelskamp KS
R Lynn Jenkins KS
R Mike Pompeo KS
R Kevin Yoder KS
R Garland Barr KY
R Brett Guthrie KY
R Thomas Massie KY
R Harold Rogers KY
R Ed Whitfield KY
R Charles Boustany LA
R Bill Cassidy LA
R John Fleming LA
R Vance McAllister LA
R Steve Scalise LA
R Andy Harris MD
R Justin Amash MI
R Dan Benishek MI
R Kerry Bentivolio MI
R Dave Camp MI
R Bill Huizenga MI
R Candice Miller MI
D Gary Peters MI
R Mike Rogers MI
R Fred Upton MI
R Tim Walberg MI
R Michele Bachmann MN
R John Kline MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
D Collin Peterson MN
D Timothy Walz MN
R Sam Graves MO
R Vicky Hartzler MO
R Billy Long MO
R Blaine Luetkemeyer MO
R Jason Smith MO
R Ann Wagner MO
R Gregg Harper MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Steve Daines MT
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R George Holding NC
R Richard Hudson NC
R Walter Jones NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
D Mike McIntyre NC
R Mark Meadows NC
R Robert Pittenger NC
R Kevin Cramer ND
R Adrian Smith NE
R Lee Terry NE
D Ann Kuster NH
R Rodney Frelinghuysen NJ
R Scott Garrett NJ
R Leonard Lance NJ
R Frank LoBiondo NJ
R Jon Runyan NJ
R Christopher Smith NJ
R Stevan Pearce NM
R Mark Amodei NV
R Joseph Heck NV
R Chris Collins NY
R Christopher Gibson NY
R Michael Grimm NY
R Richard Hanna NY
D Daniel Maffei NY
D Sean Maloney NY
R Tom Reed NY
R Steve Chabot OH
R Bob Gibbs OH
R Bill Johnson OH
R Jim Jordan OH
R David Joyce OH
R Robert Latta OH
R James Renacci OH
R Steve Stivers OH
R Patrick Tiberi OH
R Michael Turner OH
R Brad Wenstrup OH
R Jim Bridenstine OK
R Tom Cole OK
R James Lankford OK
R Frank Lucas OK
R Markwayne Mullin OK
R Greg Walden OR
R Lou Barletta PA
R Charles Dent PA
R Michael Fitzpatrick PA
R Jim Gerlach PA
R Mike Kelly PA
R Tom Marino PA
R Patrick Meehan PA
R Tim Murphy PA
R Scott Perry PA
R Joseph Pitts PA
R Keith Rothfus PA
R Bill Shuster PA
R Glenn Thompson PA
R Jeff Duncan SC
R Trey Gowdy SC
R Mick Mulvaney SC
R Tom Rice SC
R Marshall Sanford SC
R Joe Wilson SC
R Kristi Noem SD
R Diane Black TN
R Marsha Blackburn TN
R John Duncan TN
R Stephen Fincher TN
R Charles Fleischmann TN
R David Roe TN
R Joe Barton TX
R Kevin Brady TX
R Michael Burgess TX
R John Carter TX
R K. Conaway TX
R John Culberson TX
R Blake Farenthold TX
R Bill Flores TX
D Pete Gallego TX
R Louie Gohmert TX
R Ralph Hall TX
R Jeb Hensarling TX
R Sam Johnson TX
R Kenny Marchant TX
R Michael McCaul TX
R Randy Neugebauer TX
R Pete Olson TX
R Ted Poe TX
R Pete Sessions TX
R Lamar Smith TX
R Steve Stockman TX
R Mac Thornberry TX
D Filemon Vela TX
R Randy Weber TX
R Roger Williams TX
R Rob Bishop UT
R Jason Chaffetz UT
D Jim Matheson UT
R Chris Stewart UT
R J. Forbes VA
R Bob Goodlatte VA
R H. Griffith VA
R Robert Hurt VA
R Edward Rigell VA
R Robert Wittman VA
R Frank Wolf VA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R David Reichert WA
R Sean Duffy WI
R Thomas Petri WI
R Reid Ribble WI
R Paul Ryan WI
R F. Sensenbrenner WI
R Shelley Capito WV
R David McKinley WV
D Nick Rahall WV
No (167)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ann Kirkpatrick AZ
D Ed Pastor AZ
D Karen Bass CA
D Xavier Becerra CA
D Lois Capps CA
D Tony Cárdenas CA
D Judy Chu CA
D Jim Costa CA
D Susan Davis CA
D Anna Eshoo CA
D Sam Farr CA
D John Garamendi CA
D Janice Hahn CA
D Michael Honda CA
D Jared Huffman CA
D Barbara Lee CA
D Zoe Lofgren CA
D Alan Lowenthal CA
D Doris Matsui CA
D Jerry McNerney CA
D George Miller CA
D Grace Napolitano CA
D Nancy Pelosi CA
D L. Roybal-Allard CA
D Raul Ruiz CA
D Linda Sánchez CA
D Adam Schiff CA
D Brad Sherman CA
D Jackie Speier CA
D Eric Swalwell CA
D Mark Takano CA
D Mike Thompson CA
D Juan Vargas CA
D Maxine Waters CA
D Henry Waxman CA
D Diana DeGette CO
D Ed Perlmutter CO
D Jared Polis CO
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D Elizabeth Esty CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Kathy Castor FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Lois Frankel FL
D Alan Grayson FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D Sanford Bishop GA
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Tulsi Gabbard HI
D Bruce Braley IA
D Danny Davis IL
D Tammy Duckworth IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
D Robin Kelly IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Janice Schakowsky IL
D André Carson IN
D Peter Visclosky IN
D John Yarmuth KY
D Cedric Richmond LA
D Michael Capuano MA
D Katherine Clark MA
D William Keating MA
D Joseph Kennedy MA
D Stephen Lynch MA
D James McGovern MA
D Richard Neal MA
D John Tierney MA
D Niki Tsongas MA
D Elijah Cummings MD
D John Delaney MD
D Donna Edwards MD
D Steny Hoyer MD
D C. Ruppersberger MD
D John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Michael Michaud ME
D Chellie Pingree ME
D John Conyers MI
D Daniel Kildee MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Richard Nolan MN
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D George Butterfield NC
D David Price NC
D Carol Shea-Porter NH
D Rush Holt NJ
D Frank Pallone NJ
D Bill Pascrell NJ
D Donald Payne NJ
D Albio Sires NJ
D Ben Luján NM
D M. Lujan Grisham NM
D Steven Horsford NV
D Dina Titus NV
D Timothy Bishop NY
D Yvette Clarke NY
D Joseph Crowley NY
D Eliot Engel NY
D Brian Higgins NY
D Steve Israel NY
D Hakeem Jeffries NY
D Nita Lowey NY
D Carolyn Maloney NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Grace Meng NY
D Jerrold Nadler NY
D William Owens NY
D Charles Rangel NY
D José Serrano NY
D Louise Slaughter NY
D Paul Tonko NY
D Nydia Velázquez NY
D Joyce Beatty OH
D Marcia Fudge OH
D Marcy Kaptur OH
D Tim Ryan OH
D Earl Blumenauer OR
D Suzanne Bonamici OR
D Peter DeFazio OR
D Kurt Schrader OR
D Robert Brady PA
D Matthew Cartwright PA
D Michael Doyle PA
D Chaka Fattah PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D Steve Cohen TN
D Jim Cooper TN
D Joaquin Castro TX
D Henry Cuellar TX
D Lloyd Doggett TX
D Al Green TX
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
D Sheila Jackson Lee TX
D Eddie Johnson TX
D Beto O’Rourke TX
D Marc Veasey TX
D Gerald Connolly VA
D James Moran VA
D Robert Scott VA
D Peter Welch VT
D Suzan DelBene WA
D Denny Heck WA
D Derek Kilmer WA
D Rick Larsen WA
D Jim McDermott WA
D Adam Smith WA
D Ron Kind WI
D Gwen Moore WI
D Mark Pocan WI
Not Voting (17)
R Ken Calvert CA
D G. Negrete McLeod CA
D Loretta Sanchez CA
R Steve King IA
D Bobby Rush IL
D John Dingell MI
R Alan Nunnelee MS
R Howard Coble NC
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Peter King NY
D Carolyn McCarthy NY
D Allyson Schwartz PA
D James Clyburn SC
R Scott DesJarlais TN
R Kay Granger TX
R Doc Hastings WA
R Cynthia Lummis WY