I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3092
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage State unemploy-
ment insurance laws to establish a system under which workers may
purchase insurance to cover the costs of health insurance during periods
of unemployment.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 14, 1996
Mr. FRANKS of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage
State unemployment insurance laws to establish a system
under which workers may purchase insurance to cover
the costs of health insurance during periods of
unemployment.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That (a) subsection (a) of section 3304 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to approval of State un-
employment compensation laws) is amended by striking
‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (17), by redesignating
paragraph (18) as paragraph (19), and by inserting after
paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(18) optional health insurance continuation
benefits shall be available as required by subsection
(g); and’’
(b) Section 3304 of such Code is amended by adding
at the end thereof the following new subsection:
‘‘(g) OPTIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION
BENEFITS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection
(a)(18), a State law meets the requirements of this
subsection if—
‘‘(A) the State law establishes a program
under which individuals performing services
covered under such State law may elect to pur-
chase health insurance continuation benefits by
having premiums deducted by their employer
from their wages,
‘‘(B) such program offers several options
as to the period for which such benefits are
available and as to the level of such benefits,
‘‘(C) such program specifies the periodic
premium to be deducted for each of such op-
tions and the maximum total premium payable
for any such option, and
‘‘(D) any premiums collected pursuant to
such program are to be deposited in a special
fund established under such State law which is
to be used solely for purposes of providing
health insurance continuation benefits (exclu-
sive of costs of administration).
‘‘(2) HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION BEN-
EFITS.—For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘health insurance continuation benefits’ means pay-
ments to or on behalf of an individual who is receiv-
ing compensation under the State law to assist in
covering the cost of health insurance for such indi-
vidual and his spouse and dependents.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE
FUNDS
MADE
AVAIL-
ABLE.—For purposes of title III of the Social Secu-
rity Act, the costs of administering the program re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) shall be treated as costs
of administering the State unemployment compensa-
tion law.’’.
(c)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the
amendments made by this section shall take effect on No-
vember 1, 1996.
(2) In the case of any State the legislature of which
has not been in session for at least 30 calendar days
(whether or not successive) between the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and November 1, 1996, the amendments
made by this section shall take effect 30 calendar days
after the first day on which such legislature is in session
on or after November 1, 1996.
Æ