Today, Congressman Blake Moore introduced the Advancing Health Savings Act to help patients access the benefits of their health savings accounts (HSA) as soon as they are covered under an HSA-eligible high deductible health plan (HDHP), lower their cost of care, and empower patients to take charge of their health care.
“The Advancing Health Savings Act is a commonsense reform measure that will give patients peace of mind in knowing they have access to the savings afforded by HSAs for certain medical expenses incurred before they could establish their HSA,” said Congressman Blake Moore. “These accounts are designed to empower patients to lower their health care costs and save tax-free for future medical needs. This legislation will bolster consumers’ ability to use these tax-advantaged accounts to reduce the cost of their care.”
This legislation would establish a special rule for qualified medical expenses incurred prior to the establishment of a health savings account (HSA). Under this proposal, if an HSA were established within 60 days of the effective coverage date for an HSA-eligible high deductible health plan, an individual could use distributions from their HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses incurred during the 60-day period between when their HDHP coverage began and when the HSA was established.
This legislation is supported by many organizations, including the American Bankers Association Health Savings Account Council, the Cache Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, the HSA Coalition, the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, the Park City Chamber of Commerce, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the ERISA Industry Committee, the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Utah Bankers Association, the Utah Hospital Association, and the Utah Taxpayers Association.
