The House passed a bill that aims to protect medium-sized businesses from higher premiums caused by a small provision in Obamacare.
The House approved the Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act by a voice vote Monday. The bill takes aim at a provision in the small group market, where small businesses go to get health insurance.
The chamber also passed a bill aimed at protecting religious liberty, approving the Equitable Access to Care and Health Act, which would provide a religious exemption to Obamacare’s individual mandate for obtaining health insurance.
Normally the only businesses that participate in small group markets have up to 50 employees, but starting next year businesses with 51-100 employees also will participate.
That is where the problem comes in.
House lawmakers said that mid-sized companies would have to deal with new mandates and requirements for their insurance plans. They also would have to pick all new plans because they are in a new market.
“It is estimated that under current law, more than three million employees will experience a double-digit percent increase in their health care premiums,” said Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., in a statement from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which advanced the legislation.
About 64 percent of members in groups with 51-100 employees would see a premium increase in 2016 as a result of the expansion, with the groups seeing an 18 percent increase on average, according to an analysis from the BlueCross BlueShield Foundation, which is part of Anthem.
The bill also authorizes $201 million for the Medicare Improvement Fund, which was created to make improvements to Medicare. The healthcare law cut that money to help pay for Obamacare’s provisions.
The bill now goes before the Senate. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., introduced in April a companion bill focusing on the small group definition.
