HB1800 Summary

• Enacts the "Affordable Health Insurance Act" to increase availability of affordable high deductible health plans eligible for health savings accounts (HSAs) and reduce health insurance costs in Arkansas.

• Allows the Insurance Commissioner to establish flexible guidelines for high deductible health plans with HSAs, conduct studies on similar plans in other states, and create expedited approval processes for qualifying plans.

• Permits health reimbursement arrangement-only plans that are not sold with health insurance to be excluded from state insurance regulation.

• Provides state income tax deductions for employers with 50 or fewer employees who offer high deductible health plans with catastrophic coverage paired with HSAs, allowing 100% deduction of premiums paid.

• Grants employers with 50 or fewer employees a $250 annual tax credit per employee enrolled for 12 consecutive months in qualified high deductible health plans, if made available to all employees; also exempts high deductible HSA-eligible health insurance premiums from state insurance premium taxes.