The American Press

Congress has a lot of important pending legislation and among the most critical for our nation are bills concerning health care.

The Council for Citizens against Government Waste, a nonpartisan watchdog group fighting waste and abusive spending, is recommending the Senate vote on two bills that would be of great benefit to families dealing with the high cost of health care.

The two bills it is recommending for passage have both been passed by the House of Representatives and are H.R. 6199, the Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Account Act of 2018; and H.R. 6311, the Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans and Expanding Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018.

“They will help to lower insurance premiums, empower and provide consumers with more choices in purchasing health care products, and reduce taxes for American families,” according to CCAGW spokesman Elizabeth Wright.

Here are some important policy changes the bills could make:

• Once again, HSAs could be used to purchase over-the-counter medicines, a reversal of the restriction ACA placed on the accounts;

• Senior citizens, who are enrolled in Medicare Part A, could continue to contribute to an HSA through their employer-sponsored plan;

• Feminine hygiene products would be, for the first time, a qualified medical expense within a HSA;

• Certain fees with direct primary care doctors would become a qualified medical expense under a HSA;

• Certain fitness and sport expenses would be treated as qualified medical expense, up to a limited amount, to encourage exercise and improvement of personal health;

• Funds in flexible savings accounts (FSAs) could be rolled over, thus changing the “use it or lose it” requirement that encourages unnecessary spending;

Anyone would be allowed to purchase a lower cost, catastrophic health insurance plan (currently restricted to 30 years and younger thanks to ACA) and all catastrophic and bronze plans with high deductibles would be eligible for an HSA.

The Senate needs to vote on these important health care bills as soon as possible.

U.S. Capitol buildingBy Martin Falbisoner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link