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House|Senate

113th Congress, Vote 97; House of Representatives #4118

SIMPLE Fairness Act


Official Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to delay the implementation of the penalty for failure to comply with the individual health insurance mandate.

HR 4118: Suspending the Individual Mandate Penalty Law Equals Fairness Act or SIMPLE Fairness Act
Passed by the House March 5, 2014, 250-160 (20 abstaining).

Synopsis: The ACA includes a shared responsibility provision that requires most Americans to have health insurance in place starting on January 1, 2014. Those who do not have coverage (or an exemption) face a tax penalty for non-compliance.

HR 4118 would delay the implementation of the shared responsibility penalty by one year. People would still be required to have coverage, but there would be no financial penalty for non-compliance in 2014. For those who remained uninsured, penalties would only begin to accrue as of January 1, 2015 (HR 2668, passed by the house in 2013, was a very similar bill but it went one step further by fully removing the requirement that people maintain health insurance coverage in 2014).

As written, the ACA calls for penalties that increase significantly from 2014 to 2016 (from $95 per adult or 1 percent of income in 2014, up to $695 per adult or 2.5 percent of income in 2016). HR 4118 would shift the penalty structure forward one year, so while the penalty for 2014 would be zero, the penalties for 2015 and 2016 would also be lower than originally projected.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • Initially, large employers were to be subject to the employer shared responsibility starting in 2014, but that was pushed back to 2015 or 2016 depending on the size of the business. Supporters of HR 4118 noted that if employers weren’t going to be subject to the penalty in 2014, individuals shouldn’t be either.
  • HR 4118 was introduced during the first ACA open enrollment period for individual health insurance. The first couple months of open enrollment had been a disaster, and although things were better by February when the bill was introduced, there were still concerns that people were struggling to secure coverage for 2014 under the new system.
  • The Congressional Budget Office projected that from 2014 to 2024, the federal government would save a total of $9.4 billion if HR 4118 were to be implemented. The savings would result from the fact that without the penalty, fewer people would enroll in Medicaid/CHIP and subsidized exchange plans.

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • The CBO projected that without the shared responsibility mandate, there would be 1 million more people without health insurance in 2014 than there would be with the penalty in place. They also projected that a similar effect would be seen in 2015 and 2016, since the penalties in those years would be lower under HR 4118 than under the ACA as written.
  • Enacting HR 4118 was projected to increase government costs for the risk corridors program by $100 million. Delaying the individual mandate penalty was expected to result in more people waiting until 2015 or later to obtain coverage, and it was assumed that the people delaying enrollment would be generally healthy. Thus the overall mix of insureds was expected to tilt slightly more towards sick enrollees in 2014 if HR 4118 was enacted, resulting in higher costs for the risk corridors program. This adverse selection would also result in higher overall health insurance premiums in the first few years of ACA implementation.
  • In stating that President Obama would veto if HR 4118, the White House noted that HR 4118 would result in “higher premiums for those who remain insured, fewer premium tax credits for middle-income families, and increased cost-shifting of uncompensated care to health care providers, workers, and businesses.”
03/05/2014 Status: House passed

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

Yes (250)
R Don Young AK
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 Tim Griffin AR
R Steve Womack AR
D Ron Barber AZ
R Trent Franks AZ
R Matt Salmon AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
D Kyrsten Sinema AZ
D Ami Bera CA
D Julia Brownley CA
R Ken Calvert CA
R John Campbell CA
R Paul Cook CA
R Jeff Denham CA
D John Garamendi 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
D Raul Ruiz 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 Ander Crenshaw FL
R Ron DeSantis FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
D Joe Garcia 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 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 Tulsi Gabbard HI
R Steve King IA
R Tom Latham IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
D Cheri Bustos IL
R Rodney Davis IL
D Tammy Duckworth IL
D William Enyart IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
R Peter Roskam 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
D Richard Nolan MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
D Collin Peterson 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 Alan Nunnelee MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Steve Daines MT
R Howard Coble NC
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R George Holding NC
R Richard Hudson NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
D Mike McIntyre NC
R Mark Meadows NC
R Robert Pittenger NC
R Kevin Cramer ND
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Adrian Smith NE
R Lee Terry NE
D Ann Kuster NH
D Carol Shea-Porter 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
R Peter King NY
D Daniel Maffei NY
D William Owens 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 Scott DesJarlais 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 Kay Granger TX
R Ralph Hall TX
R Jeb Hensarling 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
D Jim Matheson UT
R Chris Stewart UT
R Eric Cantor VA
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 Doc Hastings WA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R David Reichert WA
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
R Cynthia Lummis WY
No (160)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ann Kirkpatrick 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 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 Linda Sánchez CA
D Loretta Sanchez 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 John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Kathy Castor FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Alan Grayson FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D Sanford Bishop GA
R Paul Broun GA
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Colleen Hanabusa HI
D Bruce Braley IA
D David Loebsack IA
D Danny Davis IL
D Bill Foster IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
D Robin Kelly IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Bobby Rush 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 John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Michael Michaud ME
D Chellie Pingree ME
D John Conyers MI
D John Dingell MI
D Daniel Kildee MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Timothy Walz MN
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D George Butterfield NC
D David Price NC
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 Sean Maloney NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Grace Meng NY
D Jerrold Nadler 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 Allyson Schwartz PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D James Clyburn SC
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 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 (20)
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Eric Crawford AR
R Paul Gosar AZ
D Ed Pastor AZ
D G. Negrete McLeod CA
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D Elizabeth Esty CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D Lois Frankel FL
D Bradley Schneider IL
D C. Ruppersberger MD
R Walter Jones NC
D Carolyn McCarthy NY
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
R Sam Johnson TX
R Jason Chaffetz UT
R Sean Duffy WI