Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today introduced his comprehensive plan to replace Obamacare after the Republicans, as they claim they intend to, fully repeal it.
Paul calls it the the “Obamacare Replacement Act” (S. 222), naturally. Among its key provisions:
- Provides a two-year open-enrollment period under which individuals with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
- Restores HIPAA pre-existing conditions protections. Prior to Obamacare, HIPAA guaranteed those within the group market could obtain continuous health coverage regardless of preexisting conditions.
That’s to cover those who worry about mass insurance deprivation without Obamacare. But interesting market innovations are in the bill to change the game as well:
- Replaces the existing open-ended tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance with a universal deduction on both income and payroll taxes that would provide the same level of benefit regardless of how an individual obtains their health insurance.
Paul lamented in a conference call for media introducing the bill this afternoon that some were interpreting this as eliminating the employee tax deduction; it is not, merely extending it to individuals paying for their own as individuals or in a market-formed group.
The bill will also give “individuals the option of a tax credit of up to $5,000 per taxpayer for contributions to an HSA…. Removes the maximum allowable annual contribution, so that individuals may make unlimited contributions to an HSA….[and] Eliminates the requirement that a participant in an HSA be enrolled in a high deductible health care plan.”
The full bill has many other details on the HSA plan, who can use it and how and for what, and its tax treatment.
Cross-posted from Reason