Protection from Obamacare Mandates and Congressional Equity Act

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an exemption to the individual mandate to maintain health coverage for individuals residing in counties with fewer than 2 health insurance issuers offering plans on an Exchange; to require Members of Congress and congressional staff to abide by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with respect to health insurance coverage; and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protection from Obamacare Mandates and Congressional Equity Act 2. Modifications to exemption from requirement to maintain health coverage (a) Exemption for individuals in areas with fewer than 2 issuers offering plans on an exchange Section 5000A(e) (6) Individuals in areas with fewer than 2 issuers offering plans on an exchange (A) In general Any applicable individual for any period during a calendar year if there are fewer than 2 health insurance issuers offering qualified health plans on an Exchange for such period in the county in which the applicable individual resides. (B) Aggregation rules For purposes of subparagraph (A), all health insurance issuers treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52, or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414, shall be treated as a single health insurance issuer. . (b) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to months beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 3. Health insurance coverage for certain congressional staff and members of the executive branch Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18032(d)(3)(D) (1) by striking the subparagraph heading and inserting the following: (D) Members of Congress, congressional staff, and political appointees in the exchange ; (2) in clause (i), in the matter preceding subclause (I)— (A) by striking and congressional staff with , congressional staff, the President, the Vice President, and political appointees with (B) by striking or congressional staff shall , congressional staff, the President, the Vice President, or a political appointee shall (3) in clause (ii)— (A) in subclause (II), by inserting after Congress, of a committee of Congress, or of a leadership office of Congress, (B) by adding at the end the following: (III) Political appointee The term political appointee (aa) is employed in a position described under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5, United States Code (relating to the Executive Schedule); (bb) is a limited term appointee, limited emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in the Senior Executive Service, as defined under paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of section 3132(a) of title 5, United States Code; or (cc) is employed in a position in the executive branch of the Government of a confidential or policy-determining character under schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. ; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (iii) Government contribution No Government contribution under section 8906 of title 5, United States Code, shall be provided on behalf of an individual who is a Member of Congress, a congressional staff member, the President, the Vice President, or a political appointee for coverage under this paragraph. (iv) Limitation on amount of tax credit or cost sharing An individual enrolling in health insurance coverage pursuant to this paragraph shall not be eligible to receive a tax credit under section 36B (v) Limitation on discretion for designation of staff Not­with­stand­ing any other provision of law, a Member of Congress shall not have discretion in determinations with respect to which employees employed by the office of such Member are eligible to enroll for coverage through an Exchange. (vi) Clarification The terms small employer qualified employers .

Summary: Protection from Obamacare Mandates and Congressional Equity Act This bill alters provisions relating to the requirement to maintain minimum essential health care coverage (i.e., the individual mandate), as well as provisions relating to health care coverage for certain executive branch and congressional employees. Specifically, the bill exempts individuals from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health care coverage if they reside in a county where fewer than two health insurers offer insurance on the health insurance exchange. (Under current law, effective January 1, 2019, there is no penalty for failing to maintain minimum essential health care coverage.) The bill also requires certain executive branch and congressional employees to participate in health insurance exchanges. Under current law, Members of Congress and their designated staff are required to obtain coverage through health insurance exchanges, rather than the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. Current regulations authorize government contributions toward such coverage and require Members of Congress to designate which members of their staff are required to obtain coverage through an exchange. The bill requires all congressional staff, including employees of congressional committees and leadership offices, to obtain coverage through an exchange. The bill also prohibits Members of Congress from having the discretion to determine which of their employees are eligible to enroll through an exchange. Further, the President, Vice President, and executive branch political appointees must also obtain coverage through exchanges, rather than FEHB. The government is prohibited from contributing to or subsidizing the health insurance coverage of the officials and employees subject to this requirement, including Members of Congress and their staff.