American Health Benefits Program Act of 2004

H.R. 4964, the American Health Benefits Program Act of 2004, proposed creating a national health insurance system modeled after the plan currently used by Members of Congress and federal employees. The program was designed to provide comprehensive medical coverage to all U.S. citizens and permanent residents who were not already enrolled in other federal programs like Medicare or TRICARE. To make coverage affordable, the bill included subsidies and tax credits for lower-income individuals, funded in part by a new excise tax on employers.