U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) on Dec. 12 introduced bipartisan legislation to relieve the impact of another hit Puerto Ricans have taken in addition to Hurricanes Irma and Maria: Obamacare’s annual health insurance provider fee.
The people of Puerto Rico — and all other U.S. territorial residents — aren’t required to have health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. And they aren’t eligible to apply for health coverage using the federal or state marketplace unless they also qualify as a resident within the service area of a marketplace.
However, health insurance providers still must pay the health insurance tax (HIT) that’s required under the law.
The result is higher insurance premiums for territorial health insurance consumers, who essentially are footing the bill for benefits they don’t receive. In Puerto Rico, it’s a particularly burdensome cost as island residents rebuild following this year’s back-to-back devastating hurricanes.
“Most of the Affordable Care Act doesn’t impact Puerto Rico, but the health insurance tax is one of a small number of provisions that does,” said Rep. Curbelo, “and it’s hurting families in Puerto Rico.”
H.R. 4619, the proposed legislation to amend the Affordable Care Act, would reduce the HIT in 2018 and 2019 by the portion that can be attributed to net premiums for health insurance regulated by Puerto Rico, according to text of the bill.
H.R. 4619 is the latest of Curbelo’s legislative efforts on providing HIT relief to territorial residents. He introduced similar legislation that would permanently exempt U.S. territories earlier this year and during the last Congress.
“American citizens in Puerto Rico are subject to the burdens of the Affordable Care Act, but they do not have access to the benefits,” Curbelo said this week.
“While I believe that the HIT functions as a tax that drives up the costs for all Americans, Puerto Ricans are especially burdened by the tax given the way the ACA uniquely treats the island,” he said.
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) joined Curbelo in introducing the bill.
González-Colón said enactment of the bill would mean lower insurance premiums for Puerto Ricans with a subsequent cost reduction of more than $200 million per year. Without such relief, she said that Puerto Rico’s estimated HIT in 2016 would be $202 million and then $249 million in 2017.
“This bill puts an end to the imposition of the HIT on insurers,” González-Colón said. “In the case of Puerto Rico, the HIT has had the effect of increasing premiums by 2 percent and of further annual increases.”
Rep. Murphy thinks that American citizens in Puerto Rico have been treated unfairly under the Affordable Care Act due to the island’s status as a U.S. territory.
“Patients on the island are paying for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance tax, but do not benefit from many of the ACA provisions that this tax was designed to pay for,” Murphy said.
“I am proud to help lead this bipartisan effort to repeal this tax in order to help our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico, whose longstanding challenges have worsened as a result of Hurricane Maria,” she added.
H.R. 4619 has been referred to both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.