[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3822 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3822

To permit employers to provide contributions and assistance to certain 
          employees who purchase individual health insurance.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 15, 2009

 Mr. Deal of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Blunt, 
  Mr. Barton of Texas, and Mr. Buyer) introduced the following bill; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 
 addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means, 
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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To permit employers to provide contributions and assistance to certain 
          employees who purchase individual health insurance.

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

SECTION 1. EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS AND ASSISTANCE FOR EMPLOYEE HEALTH 
              INSURANCE PURCHASES.

    (a) In General.--An employer that does not offer health benefits 
coverage to its employees as of the date of the enactment of this Act 
is permitted in accordance with law to provide tax-free defined 
contributions and administrative assistance to such employees who 
choose to purchase health insurance coverage in the individual market. 
The provision of such tax-free contributions and administrative 
assistance shall not constitute establishment or maintenance of a group 
health plan for purposes of applying part 7 of subtitle B of title I of 
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or title XXVIII of 
the Public Health Service Act.
    (b) Construction.--A State may not prohibit an employer from taking 
any of the actions described in subsection (a) and may not prohibit the 
sale of health insurance coverage to employees in cases where an 
employer's involvement is limited to withholding premiums from the 
employees' paychecks and sending the premium payments to the health 
insurance issuer offering the coverage on the employees' behalf.
    (c) Not Treated as List Billing.--The provisions of section 
702(c)(2)(ii) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to 
list billing) shall not be construed to apply to actions described in 
subsection (a).
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