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The Daily Signal
New Legislation
Could Open Up Health Care Options After an Obamacare Repeal
Rachel del Guidice
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., has introduced a bill in the House that, if
passed, will allow individuals to decide how they want their health
care funds to be spent, without the influence of the government or
health insurance providers.
Brat said that the health savings account legislation is a way for
lawmakers to prove to the American people that they have a plan to
replace Obamacare after repealing it.
“First and foremost, we are putting through one of the biggest public
policy initiatives of the decade with an Obamacare repeal,” Brat told
The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “And so that has become very
important to people, what you are going to replace it with. People want
assurances that they are going to be better off.”
Labeled the Health Savings Account Expansion Act, or H.R. 247, “this
bill equalizes the tax treatment for health insurance and care between
different ways of paying for it,” according to a statement from Brat.
Mia Heck, the director of the health and human services task force at
the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, told The Daily
Signal that health savings accounts help individuals plan for their
future.
“A health savings account (HSA) is a pre-tax medical savings account
available for taxpayers who are enrolled in a high-deductible health
plan,” Heck said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal. “The
high-deductible health plan serves as catastrophic coverage, while
encouraging individuals and families to save money to use toward future
medical expenses. Funds deposited into an HSA are not subject to
federal income tax.”
According to Brat, health insurance accounts enable consumers to shop
around for plans that best suit their needs.
“Instead of having to get coverage approved from the government, an
employer, or an insurance company, people will be able to use their
[health savings account] funds directly for the products and services
that they value,” Brat said.
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., has reintroduced a companion bill in the
Senate.
Flake said that the Health Savings Account Expansion Act puts
individuals in charge of their health care decisions without penalty
from the government or their insurance provider.
“[Health savings accounts] give consumers greater control over their
health care dollars by providing them with a tax-advantaged savings
option for their medical expenses,” Flake said in a speech Wednesday on
the Senate floor. “This means that the dollars they work so hard to
save can grow over time, tax-free, and be withdrawn, tax-free, for
qualified medical expenses.
The Health Savings Account Expansion Act includes several reforms,
according to Brat’s website.
First, it enlarges contribution limits to $9,000 to $18,000 per year
for people who file single or jointly.
Second, it removes restrictions imposed by Obamacare for items that are
purchased over the counter.
Third, it permits users to allocate health savings account funds to pay
their health insurance premiums and other health care costs, such as
doctor visits.
Fourth, it simplifies regulations “by eliminating the high-deductible
health plan mandate.”
This legislation, according to Brat, is a free-market solution to the
health care crisis.
“People are going to be very rational when it comes to allocating your
own dollars that the doctor or whatever service you are going for,”
Brat told The Daily Signal.
Brat sees his proposed legislation as a way to plan for the future and
address the problems Obamacare has created.
“The reason Obamacare policy is so important is because it is right in
the middle of Social Security and the Medicare crisis,” Brat said.
“Both of those programs are insolvent in 12 years. And the kids won’t
get any of those programs if we don’t do something about this.”
The campaign of President-elect Donald Trump has also spoken favorably
of health savings accounts.
His presidential campaign website stated that they would be of “great
benefit” to individuals.
Read this and other articles at The Daily Signal
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