Another ACA amendment proposed

There's no doubt that the Affordable Care Act has had significant impact on group health insurance and benefits administration. Employers need to have a solid understanding of the provisions of health care reform that are in effect, what has still to be implemented and what may be changed. A new bill recently passed the House amending part of the ACA. According to a blog for The Hill, the Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act would make expatriate health care plans, which are insurance plans through U.S. insurance carriers for Americans working abroad, exempt from the ACA

The latest possible ACA exemption
Because of the ACA's numerous provisions and requirements for employers, sponsor of the bill Rep. John Carney, D-Del., said there is the risk that foreign insurance companies could get a competitive edge over U.S. insurers that have to comply with the ACA, The Hill reported. By exempting expatriate plans from the law, businesses that send their workers to offices overseas and offer health plans to workers won't have to comply with ACA regulations, such as the employer mandate, and those insurers who offer expatriate plans can be exempt from providing the extent of coverage the ACA deems appropriate. 

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the expatriate bill would instead require these types of plans to comply with regulations that were in place before the ACA. SHRM noted such bills include the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which requires health plans to offer enrollees important information and sets minimum standards for health insurance. If the bill is passed into law, it would impact more than 300,000 Americans working outside of the U.S., according to SHRM. 

The bill has yet to pass the Senate, and the White House has already issued a statement saying it does not support the legislation in its current form. According to the Obama administration, it doesn't support the expatriate health bill because "it would reduce consumer protections and create even more loopholes in the tax code." According to SHRM, immigrant advocacy organizations are against the bill because it has the potential to reduce health care coverage for lawful U.S. immigrants and those with visas to work in the country.

The Hill noted 60 Democrats voted to pass the law in the House, and the bill has been amended since its April 6 vote.