CAHC’s Joel White spoke with Inside Health Policy about the importance of including policies in reconciliation that would expand access to health savings accounts (HSAs).
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) has long advocated for expanding use of the HSAs, and was disappointed the senate tax-writing committee omitted the language, but CEO Joel White is hopeful at least some provisions can return.
Much of the $40-plus billion price tag, White explains, is for policies that increase the value of the plans or add to the list of qualified expenditures. For example, doubling the value of HSAs would cost $8.4 billion, and letting them cover certain fitness expenses would cost $7.4 billion.
But, letting Medicare enrollees contribute to HSAs would cost $4.9 billion yet save $3 billion — for an overall cost of $1.9 billion. Allowing consumers with lower- value ACA plans to use HSAs would cost about $3.6 billion.
White says he heard rumors that the Senate may drop the HSA provisions a few days before it happened, and CAHC has been mobilizing the conservative committee, and talking with the Senate and House allies — to get key policies back on the table.
CAHC’s message to the Senate is “don’t let this once in a generation opportunity pass you by,” says White. If the full slate of provisions isn’t possible, lawmakers should at the very least make sure they expand the universe of consumers able to use the accounts. CAHC also strongly backs letting consumers use the accounts to cover payments for direct primary care, which the CBO pegs at $2.1 billion over a decade.