Obamacare Replacement Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Social Security Act to repeal certain provisions regarding health insurance, including: the requirement for individuals to maintain minimum essential coverage, limitations on insurers varying premiums by age or health status, requirements for health insurance to cover preexisting conditions, and the prohibition on lifetime or annual limits on benefits.
The bill allows a refundable tax credit for a percentage of health insurance premiums and a tax credit for health savings account (HSA) contributions.
The bill eliminates HSA contribution limits and allows all individuals to make contributions to HSAs. HSAs may be used to pay for over-the-counter medications and health insurance. HSA distributions for abortion are subject to income tax.
The tax deduction for medical care is expanded to include exercise equipment and services, nutritional supplements, and certain primary care fees. Physicians may deduct uncompensated and charity care.
The bill provides for the establishment and governance of: (1) independent health pools, which offer health insurance coverage to their members; and (2) association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by business associations.
Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must (currently, may) waive Medicaid requirements to enable states to carry out experimental, pilot, or demonstration projects.
Stop-loss insurance obtained by certain health plans or plan sponsors is exempt from requirements for health insurance.
The bill amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to declare that nothing in that Act affects antitrust laws regarding health insurance.