Military Connection: Return of Hire More Heroes? By Debbie Gregory

The House will take an opportunity in this new Congress to push legislation designed to incentivize employers to hire more Veterans.

Under H.R. 3474, the “Hire More Heroes Act,” companies that hire Veterans receiving health coverage through the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense could exclude these employees from employer-provided insurance coverage. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance.

Veterans who receive health coverage through programs such as TRICARE satisfy the healthcare law’s requirement of having insurance, making it unnecessary that their new employers to provide coverage for them. Allowing employers to exclude the Veterans who already receive healthcare through the VA and the DOD could help more Veterans get hired. If employers find that they can save money by hiring Veterans, the high Veteran unemployment rate would likely plummet.

The House passed H.R. 3474 last March, but the measure stalled in the Senate. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed that the bill would resurface when the 114th Congress convenes in January.

About the HIRE MORE HEROES ACT OF 2014:

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer, for purposes of determining whether such employer is an applicable large employer and thus required to provide health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to exclude employees who have coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), including TRICARE, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Military Connection proudly serves those who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Guard and Reserve, Veterans and their Families. We are the go to site for Veteran Employment and information on Veteran education. Militaryconnection.com provides Veterans with and Directory of Employers, a Job Board, information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and a blog that offers Veterans boundless information. Be sure to visit Militaryconnection.com, the go to site.

Military Connection: Return of Hire More Heroes? By Debbie Gregory