Title: EACH Act
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2568 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2568

To amend section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
 an additional religious exemption from the individual health coverage 
                    mandate, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2018

Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Portman) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
 an additional religious exemption from the individual health coverage 
                    mandate, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Equitable Access to Care and Health 
Act'' or the ``EACH Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION FROM HEALTH COVERAGE 
              RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 5000A(d)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) Religious conscience exemptions.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Such term shall not 
                        include any individual for any month if such 
                        individual has in effect an exemption under 
                        section 1311(d)(4)(H) of the Patient Protection 
                        and Affordable Care Act which certifies that--
                                    ``(I) such individual is a member 
                                of a recognized religious sect or 
                                division thereof which is described in 
                                section 1402(g)(1), and is adherent of 
                                established tenets or teachings of such 
                                sect or division as described in such 
                                section; or
                                    ``(II) such individual is a member 
                                of a religious sect or division thereof 
                                which is not described in section 
                                1402(g)(1), who relies solely on a 
                                religious method of healing, and for 
                                whom the acceptance of medical health 
                                services would be inconsistent with the 
                                religious beliefs of the individual.
                            ``(ii) Special rules.--
                                    ``(I) Medical health services 
                                defined.--For purposes of this 
                                subparagraph, the term `medical health 
                                services' does not include routine 
                                dental, vision and hearing services, 
                                midwifery services, vaccinations, 
                                necessary medical services provided to 
                                children, services required by law or 
                                by a third party, and such other 
                                services as the Secretary of Health and 
                                Human Services may provide in 
                                implementing section 1311(d)(4)(H) of 
                                the Patient Protection and Affordable 
                                Care Act.
                                    ``(II) Attestation required.--
                                Clause (i)(II) shall apply to an 
                                individual for months in a taxable year 
                                only if the information provided by the 
                                individual under section 1411(b)(5)(A) 
                                of such Act includes an attestation 
                                that the individual has not received 
                                medical health services during the 
                                preceding taxable year.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2018.
    (c) Construction.--Nothing in the amendment made by subsection (a) 
shall preempt any State law requiring the provision of medical 
treatment for children, especially those who are seriously ill.
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