Healthcare Freedom and Fairness Act

Key Points

• This bill creates a new type of entity called a "health marketplace pool" that can be treated as an employer under federal law, allowing groups of individuals and businesses to band together and buy group health insurance at potentially lower rates.
• Pools must be open to everyone regardless of health status. They cannot turn someone away based on a pre-existing condition or other health-related factor, though premiums can still vary between individuals within the pool.
• In a unique provision, these pools can offer plans that cover only prescription and over-the-counter drugs as the sole benefit, giving people a standalone drug coverage option outside of traditional health insurance.
• Joining a pool does not create a legal employer-employee relationship between the pool members or make businesses in the pool jointly liable for each other's workers, protecting participants from unintended legal consequences.
• Multiple pools can operate in the same area, and pools can either buy insurance from an insurance company or self-insure, giving organizers flexibility in how they structure coverage for their members.