The House Ways and Means Committee on July 13 approved eleven bills which focus on delaying the implementation of some provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other tax-related measures.
The bills approved by the Committee, as described in a Ways and Means blog post, include:
…H.R. 6301, the “Promoting High-Value Health Care Through Flexibility for High Deductible Health Plans Act of 2018,” would offer patients “greater flexibility” in designing their Health Savings Account (HSA) plans;
…H.R. 6317, the “Primary Care Enhancement Act of 2018,” would allow HSA-eligible individuals to participate in a direct primary care (DPC) arrangement without jeopardizing their HSA-eligibility and allow DPC provider fees to be covered with HSAs;
…H.R. 6305, the “Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act of 2018,” would allow spouses to also make contributions to HSAs if their spouse has a flexible savings account (FSA) and would let employers offer “certain services to employees through on-site or retail clinics”;
…H.R. 6312, the “Personal Health Investment Today (PHIT) Act,” would allow individuals to “receive tax relief for taking steps to better their health, such as by for signing up for a gym membership or exercise classes”;
…H.R. 6309, the “Allowing Working Seniors to Keep Their Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018,” would “expand access to HSAs to include seniors who are still in the workforce”;
…H.R. 6199, the “Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2018,” would allow funds in tax-favored health accounts to be used for over-the-counter medical products;
…H.R. 6306, the “Improve the Rules with Respect to Health Savings,” would increase HSA contribution limits and allow both spouses to make catch-up contributions to the same account;
…H.R. 6313, the “Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 2018,” would allows patients to carry over any remaining balance in their FSAs to the next year;
…H.R. 4616, the “Employer Relief Act of 2018,” would “provide retroactive relief from the ACA’s employer mandate” and further delay the so-called “Cadillac tax”;
…H.R. 6314, the “Health Savings Act of 2018,” would allow plans categorized as “catastrophic” and “bronze” in the exchanges to qualify for HSA contributions; and
…H.R. 6311, the “Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans Act of 2018,” would allow “the ACA premium tax credit to be used for qualified plans offered outside of the exchanges.”
