Update: Congressman Ted Budd has introduced the Pandemic Healthcare Access Act in the House of Representatives.
ATR President Grover Norquist led a letter of 30 organizations in support of Senator Cruz’s Pandemic Healthcare Access Act. This legislation allows all healthcare plans to use Health Savings Accounts during the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic.
[Click here to read the full letter]
Currently, there is a mandate that any American wanting to open or contribute to an HSA must be on a high-deductible health plan.
Senator Cruz’s legislation would pause this mandate in order to help mitigate the pandemic by Americans in Medicare, Affordable Care Act health plans, TRICARE, the VA, Indian Health Service and any employer plan to use HSAs. It will also help individuals pay for their deductible or any increased health care costs, allow HSA funds to pay for direct primary care, and allow telemedicine below the deductible.
As lawmakers continue working through proposals to address the pandemic, they should support and pass the Pandemic Healthcare Access Act.
You can read the full letter here or below:
Dear Leader McConnell:
As you continue working to address the Coronavirus pandemic, we urge policymakers to temporarily de-couple Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) from high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) as has been proposed by Senator Cruz and Congressman Ted Budd in the Pandemic Healthcare Access Act.
This proposal will help mitigate the public health crisis by allowing Americans in Medicare, Affordable Care Act health plans, TRICARE, the VA, Indian Health Service and any employer plan to use HSAs. It will also help individuals pay for their deductible or any increased health care costs, allow HSA funds to pay for direct primary care, and allow telemedicine below the deductible.
HSAs are currently used by almost 30 million American families and individuals. They empower healthcare mobility and choice, reduce taxes, and are a powerful tool for savings.
However, there is currently a mandate that any American wanting to open or contribute to an HSA must be on a high-deductible health plan. This restricts how funds can be spent and which plans qualify for an HSA.
Ending this mandate would give millions of individuals and families access to a portable, tax-advantaged savings vehicle, that can be used on healthcare expenses. This will especially benefit high-risk populations like seniors that consume greater levels of care.
Suspending the HSA HDHP mandate will help strengthen public health and ensure that Americans have access to the care they need at a time when they are required to self-quarantine to prevent mass infection. As you continue working to mitigate this pandemic, we hope you will support this request.
Sincerely,
Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Jim Martin
Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President, 60 Plus Association
Bob Carlstrom
President, AMAC Action
Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment
Brent Wm. Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer, Americans for Prosperity
Robert Alt
President, The Buckeye Institute
Norm Singleton
President, Campaign for Liberty
Matthew Kandrach
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Ryan Ellis
President, Center for a Free Economy
Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom
David McIntosh
President, Club for Growth
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director, Digital Liberty
Timothy Head
Executive Director, Faith & Freedom Coalition
Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks
George Landrith
President, Frontiers of Freedom
Naomi Lopez
Director of Healthcare Policy, Goldwater Institute
John Goodman
President and CEO, Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research
Jessica Anderson
Vice President, Heritage Action for America
Dan Perrin
Executive Director, HSA Coalition
Beverly Gossage
President, HSA Benefits Consulting
Andrew Langer
President, Institute for Liberty
Heather Higgins
CEO, Independent Women’s Voice
Seton Motley
President, Less Government
Pete Sepp
President, National Taxpayers Union
CL Gray, MD
President, Physicians for Reform
Jonathan Bydlak
Director of the Fiscal/Budget Policy Project, R Street Institute
David Williams
President, Taxpayer Protection Alliance
Jenny Beth Martin
Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action
Amy Kremer
Chairman, Women for America First
Cc:
President Donald Trump
HHS Secretary Alex Azar
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
House Ways and Means Republican Leader Kevin Brady
All GOP Members of the House and Senate