Matt's Health Insurance Plan Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-5218
Sponsor: Rep. Gephardt, Richard A. [D-MO-3]
Introduced: 2004-10-05 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Administrative procedure
Agriculture and Food
Aid to dependent children
Appropriations
Block grants
Business ethics
Cash welfare block grants
Coinsurance
Commerce
Communication in medicine
Community health services
Conflict of interests
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost effectiveness
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug abuse
Drug abuse treatment
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Employee health benefits
Executive reorganization
Families
Federal aid to child health services
Finance and Financial Sector
Food stamps
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government paperwork
Government procurement
Government publicity
Government statistics
Government trust funds
Grants-in-aid
Health education
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Higher education
Homeless
Illiteracy
Income tax
Indexing (Economic policy)
Infants
Insurance premiums
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Labor and Employment
Language and languages
Law
Long-term care insurance
Married people
Maternal health services
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medical education
Medical ethics
Medical research
Medically uninsured
Medicare
Mental health services
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Parents
Poor children
Pregnant women
Research centers
Retiree health benefits
School lunch program
Science, Technology, Communications
Self-employed
Social Welfare
Standards
State laws
Tax credits
Tax refunds
Tax-exempt organizations
Taxation
Translating and interpreting
Welfare eligibility
Welfare waivers
Welfare work participation
Women

Summary:
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: 
Matt's Health Insurance Plan Act of 2004 - Requires each employer to offer health insurance coverage constituting qualified health care to employees, former employees, and their families.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit equal to 60 percent of the amount paid or incurred by an employer during the taxable year to provide qualified health care (directly or otherwise) to employees, former employees, and their families under a group health plan during the one year period ending January 1, 2005. Prescribes formulae for tax credits for other employers, including the self-employed, who provide qualified health insurance after such date. Allows a tax credit to certain low-wage workers for 25 percent of amounts paid for coverage under any subsidized health plan maintained by any employer of the taxpayer or of the taxpayer's spouse.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for payments to qualified nontaxpayer employers who provide qualified health care under this Act.
 
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide for access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 65 years of age. 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a refundable tax credit for employee costs of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) coverage.
 
Amends title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) rename the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) the FamilyCare Program; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of children born to title XXI parents; and (3) allow optional family care coverage of parents of targeted low income children and low-income pregnant women under Medicaid (SSA title XIX).
 

 
Revises the transitional medical assistance (TMA) program, allowing States to extend eligibility for low-income individuals for up to 12 additional months, and eliminating the sunset for TMA.
 

 
Increases the SCHIP allotment for each of FY 2002 through 2004.
 
Directs the Secretry to award demonstration grants to up to seven States (or other qualified entities) to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to homeless individuals and families under specified programs, including Medicaid.
 
Limits cost-sharing under the FamilyCare program to 2.5 percent for families with income below 150 percent of poverty.
 

 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Evidence-Based Healthcare Practices.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-11-18
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2028-2029)
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-10-05
text: Introduced in House