[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3092 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 3092

     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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    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 Representatives 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 unemployment 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 purchase 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 options 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 (exclusive of costs of 
                administration).
            ``(2) Health insurance continuation benefits.--For purposes 
        of this subsection, the term `health insurance continuation 
        benefits' means payments to or on behalf of an individual who 
        is receiving compensation under the State law to assist in 
        covering the cost of health insurance for such individual and 
        his spouse and dependents.
            ``(3) Administrative funds made available.--For purposes of 
        title III of the Social Security Act, the costs of 
        administering the program referred to in paragraph (1) shall be 
        treated as costs of administering the State unemployment 
        compensation law.''.
    (c)(1) Except as provided by paragraph (2), the amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on November 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 enactment 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.
                                 <all>