On the recordApril 9, 2014
I will also submit a rebuttal argument for the Record so that people can really get to the bottom of this legislation. I want to address some of the misperceptions and concerns that have been raised about this bill. First, this bill has nothing to do with what type of plan insurers can write and sell to expatriates. The question is where they are going to write these same plans. Here in the United States, or overseas. The same companies are going to purchase the same plans regardless of whether this bill passes. The only question is whether or not the U.S. jobs associated with these plans will be saved. Next, the bill does not allow U.S. employers to escape the ACA and offer substandard plans. These plans are incredibly generous by their very nature. They offer coverage in multiple countries and administration of plans that include multiple currencies, languages, and coverage mandates. But let me quote from the legislation itself. Page 6, lines 1-6, ``the plan sponsor [must] reasonably believe that the benefits provided by the expatriate health plan are actuarially similar to, or better than, the benefits provided under a domestic group health plan offered by that plan sponsor.'' Mr. Speaker, the legislation requires that the expatriate health plan be as good as the domestic health plan that is covered by the ACA. Any suggestion otherwise does not reflect what the legislation clearly states. There is an employer mandate in the ACA.…
