A proposed House bill introduced on Tuesday would establish a special rule for qualified medical expenses incurred prior to the establishment of a health savings account. The Advancing Health Savings Act, sponsored by Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), would allow an individual to use distributions from their HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses incurred during the 60-day period between when their high deductible health plan coverage began and when the HSA was established. Among the bill’s supporters are the American Bankers Association’s Health Savings Account Council and the Utah Bankers Association.
In related news, the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on two HSA Council-supported bills. H.R. 5688 seeks to expand HSA access and increase benefit flexibility by, among other things, allowing HSAs to offer pre-deductible coverage of health services at onsite employee clinics and retail health clinics, and allowing the plans to offer pre-deductible coverage for services and medication that manage chronic conditions. H.R. 5687 seeks to modernize HSA accounts through several changes concerning eligibility and administration.
