Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 6199 - Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018

(House Rules)
(Rep. Jenkins, R-KS, and three cosponsors)

The Administration supports H.R. 6199, the Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts of 2018. This bipartisan package of healthcare reforms would increase the ability of Americans to use and benefit from health savings accounts (HSAs). When paired with high-deductible health plans, HSAs are a proven tool to lower healthcare spending by incentivizing consumers to obtain higher value healthcare. H.R. 6199 would promote a consumer-driven healthcare approach and furthers the Administration's commitment to expand access to higher quality and more affordable healthcare for millions of Americans.

H.R. 6199 would expand the ways that people could use and benefit from HSAs. H.R. 6199 would remove the counterproductive ban on HSA enrollment for those who have a spouse enrolled in a health Flexible Spending Account. The bill also would reverse an Obamacare provision that restricts the uses of HSA funds, and would once again allow HSA reimbursement for over-the-counter medications and other personal hygiene products. H.R. 6199 would permit direct primary care arrangements to be financed from an HSA and to be integrated with an HSA-qualified health plan. These innovative care arrangements exist outside of the traditional insurance bureaucracy and allow an individual to pay a fixed periodic fee in exchange for primary care services. Finally, in recognition of the evidence demonstrating the importance of exercise on a healthy lifestyle, H.R. 6199 would permit enrollees to use funds in HSAs and other health savings programs for certain sport and fitness expenses, such as a gym membership. These HSA reforms would give Americans greater control of how to use their resources to improve their health. The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress on other important legislative reforms that expand access to direct provider contracting and other innovative health financing arrangements.

If H.R. 6199 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.