Heidi Alexander: “the Health Care Options Act of 2017, introduced by Senator Corker and me, would address the emergency in the health…”

“the Health Care Options Act of 2017, introduced by Senator Corker and me, would address the emergency in the health insurance exchanges in Tennessee and in other States. This legislation would allow any American who receives a subsidy and has no insurance available on their exchange next year to use that subsidy to buy any State-approved insurance off the exchange. Second, the legislation would waive the Affordable Care Act requirement that these Americans--who, remember, have zero insurance options for their subsidies--have to pay a penalty for not purchasing the insurance. Third, the legislation would bring peace of mind between now and the beginning of 2018 to millions of Americans--some of the most vulnerable people in our country--who face having zero options of health insurance to purchase with their subsidy in the year 2018 because of the collapsing ObamaCare exchange markets. Here is why urgent action is needed. There are 11 million Americans who buy individual insurance now on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. Approximately 85 percent of them receive a subsidy to help them buy insurance. For those who don't like subsidies for people buying insurance, I would remind us that about 60 percent of insured Americans get insurance on the job, and the average tax break for people with employer sponsored insurance is about $5,000.…”