The New House Health Bill: Latest Version of the Public Plan

Robert Moffit / October 29, 2009

The new House bill ( H.R. 3962) contains a slightly revised version of the “public option”, a new government run health plan designed to compete against private health plans.

Pool of Eligible Enrollees. Under the original House tri-committee legislation ( H.R. 3200), in year one (2013), individuals and employers with 10 employees or fewer were eligible for the exchange. In year two (2014), individuals and employers with 20 employees or fewer became eligible. In year three (2015), the “Health Choices Commissioner”—a presidential appointee tasked with heading a new executive-branch agency called the Health Choices Administration—was granted the authority to expand employer eligibility with the “goal of allowing all employers access to the Exchange.”

Under the version of H. R. 3200 amended by the by the Committee on Education and Labor, in year one (2013) individuals and e
mployers with 15 employees or fewer were eligible for the exchange, in year two (2014) individuals and employers with 25 employees or fewer became eligible, in year three (2015) individuals and employers with 50 employees or fewer became eligible, and then in year four (2016) the Health Choices Commission was given authority to up it up to employers of all sizes.

The New Bill. The merged House bill, as specified in section 302 above, makes individuals and employers with 25 employees or fewer eligible for the exchange in year one (2013), in year two (2014) individuals and employers with 50 employees or fewer become eligible, in year three (2015) employers with at least 100 employees become eligible but starting that year, the Commissioner permitted from this year forward to expand employer participation as appropriate, “with the goal of allowing all employers access to the Exchange.” In effect, the merged bill makes larger sized employers explicitly eligible and still turns over authority to the health choices commissioner to further open it up. The goal has been, and still is, clearly to open the exchange and the public plan to everyone. (more…)