PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2100-2101)
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 29, 2017
Health Care Options Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily permit certain individuals to use the premium assistance tax credit to purchase health insurance outside of an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PPACA).
The bill applies to individuals who reside in a rating area or county that the Department of Health and Human Services has certified has no qualified health plans offered through an exchange established under PPACA.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Individuals residing in the areas or counties may use the premium assistance tax credit through 2019 to enroll in a plan outside of an exchange if the plan is: (1) authorized by the state in which the taxpayer resides to be offered in the individual market, or (2) is a not-for-profit membership organization that is organized and authorized under state law to accept member contributions to fund health care benefits for members and their families.
The bill prohibits advance payments of the credit from being made with respect to the off-exchange plans and specifies reporting requirements for the plans.
Through 2019, the bill also exempts the individuals residing in the counties or areas from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage (commonly referred to as the individual mandate).
People & committees
Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN] · R–TN
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2100-2101)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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