H.R. 9798, Health Coverage Deregulation. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
H.R. 9798 · Net cost
What it does
This bill exempts employer-sponsored health plans from the Affordable Care Act's requirement to cover ten Essential Health Benefits (such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, mental health services, and maternity care). Employers can now drop these coverages while remaining subject to other federal rules like mental health parity and nondiscrimination. Employers must disclose annually which benefits they are not covering.
The analysis names self-insured employers (cost savings from dropped coverage) — and 2 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
Workers in employer plans cannot shop for alternative coverage to restore dropped benefits — they are captive to their employer's plan design. The bill does not create a market; it creates a coverage gap.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 72%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Rick Allen.