HR 8840: Fair Care Act of 2026

HR 8840 in plain English: The Fair Care Act of 2026 makes wide-ranging changes to U.S. health care law, including restructuring health savings accounts, establishing a reinsurance pool for individual market coverage, appropriating $200 billion over 10 years for a new health care program, and modifying insurance market rules and penalties. It also authorizes significant new funding for federal agencies to oversee the health insurance industry.

Stated purpose

The bill aims to address high costs of health care services, prescription drugs, and health insurance coverage in the United States by modernizing health savings accounts, expanding private insurance options, increasing competition and price transparency, and promoting prescription drug competition.

Key points

• Appropriates $200,000,000,000 over 10 years to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a new health care program
• Authorizes $1,000,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2026–2035 for a related health care provision
• Authorizes $160,000,000 for the FTC to investigate health insurance market practices
• Sets annual HSA contribution limits tied to plan actuarial value: $5,000, $4,300, or $3,600, with a $50,000 lifetime account cap
• Imposes a $4 monthly tax per health insurance policy sold on exchanges and sets penalties up to $300 per day for certain violations

Arguments supporters make

• Expanding HSA options and adding lower-cost 'copper' plan tiers gives people more choices and lets them pick coverage that fits their budget and needs
• Repealing the employer mandate and increasing competition among insurers and drug makers could reduce costs for businesses and consumers over time
• Stronger antitrust enforcement against hospitals and insurers, along with price transparency rules, would make it harder for powerful health systems to charge inflated prices

Arguments opponents make

• Repealing the employer mandate could lead some employers to drop coverage, leaving workers without employer-sponsored insurance they currently rely on
• Expanding short-term and lower-benefit plans may attract healthier people away from fuller coverage markets, raising premiums for those who need more comprehensive care
• Changes to drug exclusivity periods and co-pay rules could reduce incentives for pharmaceutical innovation or delay affordable generics from reaching patients

Tradeoffs

Expanding lower-cost, less comprehensive insurance options and reducing employer coverage requirements may make premiums cheaper for some while potentially reducing the breadth of coverage or stability of insurance markets for others; increased competition and transparency could lower costs but may reduce revenue that hospitals and drug makers use to fund care for low-income patients or new medical research.

Current status in Congress: In committee.