Health Care Options Act of 2017 2017-03-29 Introduced in Senate Health Care Options Act of 2017

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily permit certain individuals to use the premium assistance tax credit to purchase health insurance outside of an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PPACA).

The bill applies to individuals who reside in a rating area or county that the Department of Health and Human Services has certified has no qualified health plans offered through an exchange established under PPACA.

Individuals residing in the areas or counties may use the premium assistance tax credit through 2019 to enroll in a plan outside of an exchange if the plan is: (1) authorized by the state in which the taxpayer resides to be offered in the individual market, or (2) is a not-for-profit membership organization that is organized and authorized under state law to accept member contributions to fund health care benefits for members and their families.

The bill prohibits advance payments of the credit from being made with respect to the off-exchange plans and specifies reporting requirements for the plans.

Through 2019, the bill also exempts the individuals residing in the counties or areas from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage (commonly referred to as the individual mandate).

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