U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) on Tuesday introduced legislation designed to provide patients with better access to their health savings accounts (HSA).
The Advancing Health Savings Act, H.R. 5690, helps patients do three things: access the benefits of their health savings accounts (HSA) as soon as they are covered under an HSA-eligible high deductible health plan (HDHP); lower their cost of care; and empower them to take charge of their health care.
“The Advancing Health Savings Act is a commonsense reform measure that will give patients peace of mind in knowing they have access to the savings afforded by HSAs for certain medical expenses incurred before they could establish their HSA,” Moore said. “These accounts are designed to empower patients to lower their health care costs and save tax-free for future medical needs. This legislation will bolster consumers’ ability to use these tax-advantaged accounts to reduce the cost of their care.”
Further, this bill would establish a special rule for qualified medical expenses incurred prior to the establishment of a health savings account (HSA).
If an HSA were established within 60 days of the effective coverage date for an HSA-eligible high deductible health plan, a person could use distributions from their HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses incurred during the 60-day period between when their HDHP coverage began and when the HSA was established.
This legislation has the backing of several organizations, including the American Bankers Association Health Savings Account Council, the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, the HSA Coalition, the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, the Park City Chamber of Commerce, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the ERISA Industry Committee, the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Utah Bankers Association, the Utah Hospital Association, and the Utah Taxpayers Association.