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TOMORROW: Committee to Examine Legislative Proposals to Improve Health Care Coverage, Provide Lower Costs for Working Families

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2017
On Wednesday, March 1 at 10:00 a.m., the Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), will examine legislative proposals that will help promote greater access to affordable health care coverage.

On Wednesday, March 1 at 10:00 a.m., the Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), will examine legislative proposals that will help promote greater access to affordable health care coverage. The hearing will take place in 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Since the 2010 health care law was enacted, health insurance costs have continued to skyrocket, and patients have experienced fewer choices. At the same time, small businesses are facing costly mandates and new obstacles to offering their employees affordable health care coverage. That’s why Congress is working to repeal the failed health care law and replace it with free-market, patient-centered solutions.

As part of a step-by-step process to provide the American people a better way on health care, committee members will discuss several commonsense legislative proposals to expand coverage, lower costs, and promote a healthy workforce, including:

  • The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101). Introduced by Reps. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Tim Walberg (R-MI), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, the bill would empower small businesses to band together though association health plans (AHPs) to negotiate for lower health insurance costs on behalf of their employees. 
      
  • A discussion draft of the Self-Insurance Protection Act. This proposal would help ensure robust access to stop-loss insurance by preventing any administration from regulating it as traditional health insurance coverage. As a result, the proposal would protect the ability of employers to self-insure, providing greater access to affordable, flexible health care plans.
        
  • A discussion draft of the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act. In recent years, regulations issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have undermined popular employee wellness programs. This proposal would provide employers the legal certainty they need to offer employee wellness plans, helping to promote a healthy workforce and lower health care costs.

To learn more about this hearing, visit republicans-edlabor.house.gov.

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