HR-3129 : Still Just a Bill

The Health Care Fairness for All Act (H.R. 3129) aims to modify existing federal health law with the stated goals of:

• Eliminating individual and employer mandates related to health insurance.
• Providing states with alternative, more affordable coverage options.

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Repealing Individual and Employer Mandates: Eliminates penalties for individuals not having health insurance and repeals the employer mandate to provide health insurance.
• Limiting Federal Health Plan Requirements: Restricts the application of certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements, while retaining consumer protections such as no lifetime or annual limits, dependent coverage through age 26, guaranteed availability and renewability of coverage, and prohibiting pre-existing condition exclusions and discrimination based on health status.
• Health Insurance Tax Credit: Establishes a health insurance tax credit to help individuals afford coverage, with adjustments based on income and employer-provided health insurance.
• Medicare Reforms: Repeals amendments related to physician-owned hospitals, promotes site-neutral payments, and expands telehealth flexibilities.
• Improving Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Transitions to non-deductible HSAs, eliminates the medical expense deduction, and changes the treatment of HSAs after the death of the account beneficiary.
• State Flexibility: Provides states with greater flexibility in regulating health insurance coverage, including the option to establish default enrollment in health insurance coverage with a Roth HSA.
• Medicaid Payment Reform: Reforms Medicaid payments to states to ensure equitable access to care, including adjustments based on beneficiary categories and quality performance.
• Price Transparency: Enshrines into law the rule requiring hospitals to make standard charges public.