Family Coverage Act

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that working families have access to affordable health insurance coverage. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Family Coverage Act 2. Sense of Congress Notwithstanding the amendments made by section 3, it is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the Treasury, within their respective jurisdictions, have the administrative authority necessary to apply the affordability provision in section 36B 3. Clarification regarding determination of affordability of employer-sponsored minimum essential coverage (a) In general Clause (i) of section 36B(c)(2)(C) (i) Coverage must be affordable (I) In general Except as provided in clause (iii), an individual shall not be treated as eligible for minimum essential coverage if such coverage consists of an eligible employer-sponsored plan (as defined in section 5000A(f)(2)) and the required contribution with respect to the plan exceeds 9.56 percent of the applicable taxpayer's household income. (II) Required contribution with respect to employee In the case of the employee eligible to enroll in the plan, the required contribution for purposes of subclause (I) is the employee's required contribution (within the meaning of section 5000A(e)(1)(B)(i)) with respect to the plan. (III) Required contribution with respect to family members In the case of an individual who is eligible to enroll in the plan by reason of a relationship the individual bears to the employee, the required contribution for purposes of subclause (I) is the employee's required contribution (within the meaning of section 5000A(e)(1)(B)(i), determined by substituting family self-only . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Clause (ii) of section 36B(c)(2)(C) This clause shall also apply to an individual who is eligible to enroll in the plan by reason of a relationship the individual bears to the employee. (2) Clause (iii) of section 36B(c)(2)(C) of such Code is amended by striking the last sentence of clause (i) clause (i)(III) (3) Clause (iv) of section 36B(c)(2)(C) of such Code is amended by striking clause (i)(II) clause (i)(I) (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017.

Summary: Family Coverage Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for determining the affordability of employer-sponsored minimum essential health coverage that is required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). (Under current law, the coverage is unaffordable, and an employee may be eligible for premium assistance tax credits, if the employee's required contribution for an individual plan exceeds 9.5% of household income, adjusted for inflation after 2014.) The bill specifies that, with respect to an employee's family members who are eligible to enroll in the plan, affordability must be determined using the cost of family coverage rather than individual coverage to expand the eligibility of families for premium assistance tax credits. This bill also expresses the sense of Congress that the Departments of Health and Human Service and the Treasury have the administrative authority, within their respective jurisdictions, to apply the affordability provision of PPACA so as to expand access to affordable health insurance coverage for working families without further legislation.