WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House voted 258 to 165 to pass the CO-OP Consumer Protection Act (H.R. 954), sponsored by Ways and Means Member Adrian Smith (R-NE). This legislation protects Obamacare victims by ensuring that people who unexpectedly lost their CO-OP health insurance midyear do not have to pay the individual mandate tax penalty.
As Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said upon passage of the bill:
“The news about the Affordable Care Act gets worse every day. Premiums are going through the roof, choice and access are falling through the floor, and insurers are fleeing exchanges throughout the country. On top of this, all but six of the 23 CO-OPs created under the law have failed. Like so many parts of the law, the CO-OP program was deeply flawed from the start. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans have had their health coverage disrupted.
“Adding insult to injury, if these Americans fail to purchase new coverage, they could be forced to pay the individual mandate tax penalty. That’s just wrong. Americans and their families should not have to pay for the Affordable Care Act’s failures. Congressman Adrian Smith’s bill will shield many Americans from that burden.”