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Committee debates tax exclusion for employer contributions to health care sharing programs; no vote due to fiscal impact
Summary
House Bill 1698 would extend the same income-tax exclusion that employers receive for health insurance contributions to contributions for health care sharing ministries or similar medical cost-sharing programs; committee discussion was informational and no vote was taken because the bill has a fiscal impact.
Representative Randy Torres, R-17, presented House Bill 1698 to allow employers’ contributions to health care sharing ministries or similar medical cost-sharing programs to be excluded from taxable income in the same manner as employer-paid health insurance.
Torres said the number of participants nationally has grown from about 200,000 in 2010 to roughly 1.7 million today, and that the proposal would let employers and self-employed people subtract contributions to such programs from taxable income, reducing income tax owed. "This bill opens the door to more affordable health care options without burdening our taxpayers," Torres said.
The chair told the committee this item "does have a physical impact" and therefore the committee could debate it but could not vote on it that day. There were no registered supporters or opponents on the record in the transcript. Torres closed without a committee vote.
Discussion vs. action: the transcript records sponsor explanation and no public testimony; the committee did not take formal action because the bill carries a fiscal (physical) impact requiring additional review.
