Kelly votes for Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) voted in favor of the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, legislation that will lower health care costs, expand health care access, and provide more affordable, quality care.

"The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act will lower health care costs across the board," said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), a member of the Ways & Means Health Subcommittee. "Republicans are focused on real, sustainable solutions to drive down out-of-control health care prices - all while saving taxpayer money. Meanwhile, Democrats would add hundreds of billions of dollars to our national debt while avoiding the root causes of skyrocketing health care coverage. Republicans are working to lower the burdensome costs of health care for all Americans not only for the next year, but for years to come."

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act would save $35 billion in taxpayer money over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation.

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act does the following:

Lowers Premium Costs Through Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments

• Lowers premium costs by 11 percent and reduces out-of-pocket costs like deductibles and copays.
• Appropriates cost-sharing reduction payments to stabilize the broken system and individual market.
• Every House Republican voted in support of this same provision in the House-passed version of the Working Families Tax Cuts legislation. House Democrats voted against it, and Senate Democrats killed it.
• In 2017, 196 House Democrats - many remain current members - signed a letter in support of exactly what this provision accomplishes.
  

Brings PBM Transparency and Removes Hidden Costs of Prescription Drugs

• Provides employers and employees with the PBM transparency they deserve to help lower premium costs and improve access to prescription medications.
• Requires pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to provide employers with clear, detailed reporting on prescription drug spending, including rebates, pricing, and formulary decisions.
  

Allows Small Business Owners and Independent Workers to Form Association Health Plans

• Expands access to Association Health Plans (AHPs) by allowing small employers and self-employed workers to band together across industries to access to more options to purchase more affordable, higher quality plans.
• Strengthens bargaining power for small business owners and independent workers by giving them access to group rates, more provider networks, and alternatives to costly small-group or individual marketplace plans.
• Restores and codifies a 2018 executive order by President Trump-rescinded by the Biden Administration-that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would enroll 3.7 million Americans in Association Health Plans and extend coverage to 400,000 previously uninsured individuals.
  
  

Provides More Choices for Employees to Customize Their Health Care Plans

• Codifies and strengthens a 2019 final rule by President Trump that allows employees to use tax-free money from their employer to purchase the health care plan of their own choice.
• CHOICE Arrangements (formerly ICHRAs) give workers more flexible options with transferable, tax-advantaged dollars to purchase the coverage that works best for them and pay premiums with pre-tax dollars.
  
  

Protects Small Business from Costly Regulatory Overreach

• Prevents unnecessary, costly state regulatory overreach that conflicts with federal law (ERISA) and clarifies that reinsurance is not traditional health insurance.
• Allows stop-loss insurance to protect against big, unexpected claims and clarifies it is not traditional health insurance so small businesses can offer flexible, affordable plans to their employees.
• Ensures self-insurance remains an affordable and accessible option to small businesses so they can provide quality health care benefits to employees that might otherwise be out of reach for them to offer.
  
  

In addition to lowering premiums, The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act more broadly addresses rising health insurance costs and health care costs.

Since 2000, the price of medical care, including services provided as well as insurance, drugs, and medical equipment, has increased by 121.3%. In contrast, prices for all consumer goods and services rose by 86.1% in the same period, according to a 2024 Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation report.

The Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) were a COVID-19 pandemic-era policy scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, according to legislation included in the American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act passed by congressional Democrats and signed into law by President Joe Biden.