Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced a bill (
The reinsurance fee established under ACA Section 1341 was designed to mitigate the risk to insurance companies for signing up too few enrollees in the ACA exchange plans or of signing up too few young and healthy individuals in the plans. On October 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Senator Thune released the following statement: “Unions should not be granted a special exemption from ObamaCare’s reinsurance tax just because the president fears further union backlash on his signature law.” To this end, the bill would prevent the administration from providing the fix that would exempt union plans from the reinsurance tax. Specifically, the bill includes the following provision:
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF REINSURANCE FEE
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the payments required to be made by health insurance issuers and third party administrators (on behalf of group health plans) under section 1341(b)(1)(A) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18061(b)(1)(A)) shall be applied equally to all such issuers and administrators and may not be waived on behalf of any such issuer, administrator or group health plan.
The legislation follows a
Used with permission by Ilyse Wolens Schuman, co-chair of the Workplace Policy Institute at Littler Mendelson. She can be reached at