The HR Policy Association, as part of the National Coalition on Benefits, called on Congress to update the rules governing health saving accounts and consumer-directed health plans in the upcoming omnibus spending bill. The letter called on Congress to take a number of steps to improve HSAs, including:
- Ensuring that telehealth benefits or onsite medical or retail clinics do not inadvertently jeopardize the HSA contribution eligibility of enrollees;
- Enabling high-deductible health plans to cover certain preventive health benefits such as inhalers for asthmatics and insulin before employees hit their deductible limit;
- Enabling HSAs to be used for direct primary care arrangements; and
- Updating the definition of “dependent” that pertains to HSAs to include adult children who are not tax dependents and domestic partners.
Congress is considering adding a number of health care provisions to the omnibus spending bill that will keep the government open through September. Improving HSAs and consumer-directed health plans may be the last employer-related health care reform that is enacted this year.
