The House approved legislation last week that U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) introduced to provide tax credits that can help Americans maintain health insurance coverage after losing a job.
Under the Broader Options for Americans Act, H.R. 2579, certain individuals who lose their jobs could use tax credits offered through the American Health Care Act (AHCA) to help continue receiving coverage under employer-sponsored health insurance plans.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, applauded House approval of H.R. 2579.
“House Republicans made it clear that we will continue to pass legislation to build on the American Health Care Act,” Brady said, commending Tiberi’s leadership in fixing a “broken health care system.”
Tiberi, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, noted that individuals who use COBRA continuation coverage after losing a job face premium costs of up to 102 percent of original plan costs, and that they aren’t eligible for Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
“My bill allows individuals who pay for the full cost of such continuation coverage to qualify for the tax credit established under the American Health Care Act,” Tiberi said. “This allows those consumers, including clergy, church lay workers and their dependents who are experiencing similar circumstances and who get their coverage through church plans, and who’ve been affected by sudden life changes, to receive assistance to pay for their unsubsidized health premiums.”
House passage of the bill, Tiberi continued, marks one more step toward “true patient-centered care.”