FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
April 16, 1998
No. OV-15
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on oversight of current tax law related to health insurance. The hearing will take place on Thursday, April 23, 1998, in room B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Under the Internal Revenue Code, employees are not taxed for the benefits they receive in the form of employer-provided health insurance coverage, and employers can deduct the cost of providing the coverage. A portion of health insurance premiums paid by self-employed individuals is also deductible.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) (P.L. 99-272), as amended, requires employers with 20 or more employees, who provide health insurance plans, to offer continued access to group health insurance to qualified beneficiaries generally for up to 18 months (in some cases for longer periods of time) if the beneficiaries lose coverage under the plan as a result of a qualifying event, such as termination of employment (other than for gross misconduct).
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) includes tax provisions related to health coverage portability, increasing the deduction of health insurance costs for the self-employed, establishing a deduction for employer-provided long-term care insurance, and Medical Savings Accounts.
Other tax-law provisions related to health insurance include cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements, itemized deductions for medical expenses, the use of excess pension assets to fund retiree health benefits, and several provisions related to long-term care.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The deductibility of employer contributions to employee health insurance plans has been a significant factor in providing coverage to American workers. Over 65 percent of the non-elderly receive employment-based coverage. We need to examine the tax incentives that are currently in place to determine whether we can do more."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will examine the operation of current tax law related to health insurance, and in particular, the effectiveness of the employer deduction for health care for employees, the COBRA health care continuation rules, and the premium deduction for the self-employed.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, May 7, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.