Small Employer Health Benefits Program Act of 2003
Latest action · Aug 13, 2003 Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 24, 2003
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Small Employer Health Benefits Program Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish the Small Employer Health Benefits Program under which: (1) qualifying small employers are provided access to qualifying health insurance coverage for their employees; and (2) such employees may elect alternative forms of coverage offered by various health insurance issuers.
Limits such program to small employers that elect to: (1) offer health insurance coverage to each individual employed for three months or longer; and (2) pay at least half the total premium for qualifying health insurance coverage for such individual. Provides for coverage of part-time employees.
Requires the Secretary to enter into contracts with health insurance issuers for the offering of such insurance coverage.
Reduces by five percent the total premium otherwise payable by such employer if an average of fewer than 25 employees were employed during the preceding calendar year.
Requires the Secretary to provide premium subsidies (calculated according to specified formulae) to: (1) employers for coverage of employees whose individual income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty line; as well as (2) such employees.
Cosponsors 25
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 24, 2003 to May 13, 2004; 17 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-MI | Dale E. Kildee | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-AZ | Ed Pastor | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-TN | Harold E. Ford Jr. | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-MN | James L. Oberstar | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-TX | Martin Frost | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-NY | Maurice D. Hinchey | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-HI | Neil Abercrombie | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-IL | Rahm Emanuel | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Robert E. Andrews | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-TX | Ruben Hinojosa | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Original | Jul 24, 2003 |
| D-TX | Ciro D. Rodriguez | Jul 25, 2003 | |
| D-FL | Jim Davis | Sep 16, 2003 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Sep 17, 2003 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Sep 25, 2003 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Mar 4, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Apr 20, 2004 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Apr 27, 2004 | |
| D-CA | Dennis A. Cardoza | May 13, 2004 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jul 24, 2003 |
| Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee | Referred Aug 13, 2003 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 13, 2003Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
- Jul 24, 2003Introduced in House
- Jul 24, 2003Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for the establishment in the Department of Labor of a Small Employer Health Benefits Program.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Small Employer Health Benefits Program Act of 2003
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Electronic government information
- Employee health benefits
- Federal employees
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Government employees' health insurance
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publicity
- Health
- Health insurance
- Insurance premiums
- Internet
- Labor and Employment
- Medical economics
- Part-time employment
- Partnerships
- Public service advertising
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Self-employed
- Small business
- Subsidies
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 24, 2003Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.