Legislation would permanently enable health discrimination in the workplace
while weakening ACA marketplaces

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Tuesday, June 6, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Keep US Covered (KUC) and its seven campaign partners representing patients, health care providers, and businesses announce their strong opposition to legislation introduced today by Representative Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) that would enable discrimination in the workplace by codifying the Trump-era regulation that created Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs).  The bill is scheduled to be considered during a House Ways and Means Committee markup tomorrow.

“This bill threatens the progress made in our country to ensure equity and fight discriminatory behavior in our health care system. ICHRAs allow employers to divide workers into classes and leave some to find health coverage on their own.  This Trump-era policy not only exacerbates health disparities, but also allows employers to cherry pick employee populations where they can dump more costly – often the most vulnerable – workers onto the open market.  Members of Congress who believe in health fairness and protecting American workers must oppose this legislation.  The actions of House Republicans only underscore the urgent need for the Biden Administration to follow through with its review of this misguided policy and use its executive power to undo this policy,” stated Sonja Nesbit, KUC Senior Advisor.

Since 2021, Keep US Covered and its campaign partners have urged President Biden to follow through on his executive order to review and potentially rescind the deeply flawed policy.  The Administration must act now to stop this effort that will codify discrimination into the law, at the expense of American workers and their families.

KUC’s seven campaign partners include: AIDS United, American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Association, Business Forward, Community Catalyst, Little Lobbyists, and Small Business Majority.

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To learn more about KUC and its partners’ work to educate policymakers on ICHRAs, STLDI, and the social determinants of health, visit KeepUSCovered.org or follow the campaign on Twitter and Facebook.
 

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About Keep US Covered: Keep US Covered is a campaign committed to protecting and expanding quality health coverage and improving care for working Americans. Vast disparities in the American health care system continue to undermine access to quality care for too many. Our mission is to promote public policy changes that preserve equity in workplace health benefits and ensure health coverage delivers for people when they need it, beginning with the reversal of harmful and potentially discriminatory policies put in place during the previous administration, including Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) and the dramatic expansion of short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI). We also seek to broaden our national health care conversation to better account for the many factors that lead to health disparities. By reversing policies that threaten to disrupt coverage for working people and focusing on the societal challenges that impact health, we can make our health care system stronger for all Americans.

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