An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ' and '. In common usage, the term is often used in the context of professionals or skilled workers sent abroad by their companies, rather than for all 'immigrants' or 'migrant workers'. In May 2013, the State Department estimated that there are currently 7.6 million Americans living outside the United States.
Provisions of the bill
The bill would exempt expatriate health care plans from the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. An "expatriate health care plan" is one in which substantially all participants are "qualified expatriates"; the bill defines a "qualified expatriate" as U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or non-immigrant about whom there is a good faith expectation of being abroad, in connection with his or her employment, for at least 90 days in a 12-month period, or of traveling abroad on at least 15 occasions during such a period; or an individual who is abroad as a member of a group determined appropriate by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The bill was considered "bipartisan." It was introduced by a Democrat and co-sponsored by 11 more Democrats and 9 Republicans. If the bill became law, it would be the eighth law modifying Obamacare to become law, although over 50 attempts have been made, indicating how much bipartisan support this bill would have. Rep. John Carney argued that expatriates, a group that includes businessmen, pilots, and ship captains, usually already have special, high-quality health care plans designed to meet their unique needs as expatriates. Carney said that "expatriate health insurance plans offer high-end, robust coverage to executives and others working outside their home country, giving them access to a global network of health care providers." Carney indicated that requiring American expatriate health care providers to meet the tax and reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act would put them at an unfair competitive disadvantage in comparison to foreign companies offering similar health care plans. President Barack Obama's administration already temporarily addressed this issue by exempting through 2017 some expatriate healthcare providers from the requirements. On the occasion of the bill's passage by the House, Delaware Governor Jack Markell issued a statement praising his state's Congressmen for their work on the bill, saying that it would keep hundreds of Cigna jobs from being moved out of their state.
