Van Duyne Introduces the Healthcare Freedom and Fairness Act to Vastly Expand Access and Options for Healthcare Coverage

Washington, D.C. - As healthcare and insurance costs continue to rise causing more Americans to go without needed care, Rep. Van Duyne introduced new legislation to eliminate Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) regulations that prevent more people from participating in healthcare marketplace pools to secure coverage for their families or employees. The Healthcare Freedom and Fairness Act empowers small businesses, the self-employed, and underinsured Americans to form massive nationwide risk pools. This broader availability of participation will allow new marketplace pools to bypass present insurance barriers and negotiate directly with health insurance companies for lower premiums and superior coverage.

By reforming ERISA - the federal law governing employee benefits - the bill removes constraints put in place under Obamacare and levels the marketplace playing field long tilted in favor of corporations. It allows independent workers and small shops to wield the same massive purchasing power as the government, labor unions, and Fortune 500 companies.

"Due to the ongoing failure of Obamacare coupled with healthcare monopolies and artificial barriers for healthcare innovation, hard-working families and small businesses continue to pay the price for limited healthcare options with skyrocketing premiums," said Rep. Van Duyne. "This legislation is about delivering common-sense reforms to strip away unnecessarily restrictive federal regulations and create the conditions for more Americans to have access to truly affordable, high-quality healthcare coverage. Through the Healthcare Freedom and Fairness Act we are finally breaking down regulatory barriers and giving the self-employed, Main Street businesses, and other individuals the collective bargaining power they deserve to command a better deal from insurance companies."

Reforming ERISA provides a direct, market-driven alternative to the shortcomings of the ACA marketplace:

• True Regulatory Uniformity: ERISA exemption allows pooled plans to operate under a single federal framework. This eliminates the costly burden of complying with 50 different sets of state insurance mandates, driving down administrative costs.
• Unrivaled Bargaining Power: By combining millions of individuals into single purchasing blocks, these new risk pools force insurance companies to compete for business. This drives premiums down while expanding national doctor networks.
• Tailored Benefit Designs: Unlike the rigid, one-size-fits-all plan designs mandated by the ACA, ERISA-reformed pools allow associations to design specific coverage options that match the unique demographic needs of their members.

Click HERE for bill text.

###