Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2006
Latest action · Apr 5, 2006 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2905-2908)
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.
- IntroducedApr 5, 2006
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2006 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to administer a separate health insurance program for non-federal employees who are either self-employed or employees of a small business with fewer than 100 employees.
Allows the Office to contract with carriers to provide health insurance under this Act. Requires a carrier to determine the amount of premiums to assess for coverage based on a community rate that may be annually adjusted based on geographic area, family status, and age. Prohibits varying premium rates based on health-status related factors, gender, class of business, or claims experience.
Permits the Office to reimburse a carrier for costs that exceed premiums received by a specified percentage. Requires a carrier to make payments to a contingency reserve fund established by the Office if the carrier's costs are lower than expected by a specified percentage. Allows the Office to use such funds to provide assistance to carriers that experience unanticipated financial hardships.
Requires the Office to establish a reinsurance fund to provide payments to carriers that experience a catastrophic claim (a claim over $50,000) for benefits provided to an individual enrolled under this Act.
Allows a participating employer to offer supplemental coverage options to employees for excepted benefits that are not subject to the Public Health Service Act requirements for health plans.
Authorizes the Office to contract with entities to administer this health program regionally.
Allows certain benefits to be offered to Medicare beneficiaries.
Requires the Office to implement a public education campaign regarding this health insurance program.
Allows a refundable tax credit for health insurance expenses of small employers who pay a specific percentage of employee expenses under such a health plan.
Cosponsors 26
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 5, 2006 to May 9, 2006; 23 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Barbara A. Mikulski | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-CA | Barbara Boxer | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-FL | Bill Nelson | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-AR | Blanche L. Lincoln | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-CT | Christopher J. Dodd | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-MA | Edward M. Kennedy | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NV | Harry Reid | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-WI | Herb Kohl | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NY | Hillary Rodham Clinton | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NM | Jeff Bingaman | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-WV | John D. Rockefeller IV | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-MA | John F. Kerry | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| I-CT | Joseph I. Lieberman | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-MN | Mark Dayton | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-AR | Mark L. Pryor | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-MT | Max Baucus | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-IA | Tom Harkin | Original | Apr 5, 2006 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | May 2, 2006 | |
| D-IL | Barack Obama | May 3, 2006 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | May 9, 2006 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Finance Committee | Referred Apr 5, 2006 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 5, 2006Introduced in Senate
- Apr 5, 2006Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2905-2908)
In the Congressional Record 4
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S6596 | Blanche L. Lincoln D-AR | Jun 28, 2006 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4446 | Daniel K. Akaka D-HI | May 11, 2006 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4181–S4185, S4187–S4189 | Blanche L. Lincoln D-AR, John Thune R-SD, Michael B. Enzi R-WY, Thomas R. Carper D-DE | May 9, 2006 |
| Senate | Text printed S2905–S2908 | Richard J. Durbin D-IL (text) | Apr 5, 2006 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 637 | Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 | Related bill | Mar 16, 2005 |
| S 874 | Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 | Related bill | Apr 22, 2005 |
| HR 1955 | Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 | Related bill | May 20, 2005 |
| S 2382 | Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2006 | Related bill | Mar 7, 2006 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to establish a national health program administered by the Office of Personnel Management to offer health benefits plans to individuals who are not Federal employees, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2006
- Popular Titles
- Small Business Health Plans bill
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.
- Administrative procedure
- Catastrophic health insurance
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Commerce
- Competitive bidding
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Cost accounting
- Discrimination in insurance
- Discrimination in medical care
- Economics and Public Finance
- Electronic government information
- Employee health benefits
- Federal employees
- Federal preemption
- Finance and Financial Sector
- Government contractors
- Government employees' health insurance
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Health
- Health insurance
- Health insurance continuation
- Income tax
- Indexing (Economic policy)
- Insurance premiums
- Internet
- Labor and Employment
- Law
- Local laws
- Medical economics
- Medically uninsured
- Medicare
- Nonprofit organizations
- Office of Personnel Management
- Rebates
- Reinsurance
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Self-employed
- Small business
- Social Welfare
- State laws
- Subsidies
- Tax credits
- Tax refunds
- Taxation
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 5, 2006Introduced in Senate
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.