Filed Health Savings Account Amendments to the Senate Finance Committee Bill

 

Number         Senator                      Description                                       Offset            

466	Rockefeller  F2	Eliminate HSAs	Revenue Raiser
536	Roberts/ Hatch F2	Excludes FSAs, HRAs, HSAs, dental, vision and other supplemental plans form threshold amount for excise tax on high cost insurance policies	proportionate reduction in spending needed in spending in the Chairman’s Mark
547	Ensign F8	Strike the provision in the Chairman’s bill that raises the penalty on non-qualified medical expenses withdrawals from HSA’s	to be derived from proportionate decrease in certain spending provisions in the Chairman’s bill except for Medicare spending
384	Kyl C17	Increase current limits on HSA contributions	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
385	Kyl C18	Improved opportunities to rollover funds from Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to fund Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
386	Kyl C19	Catch-up contributions by spouses may be made to one HSA	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
387	Kyl C20	Expanded definition of “preventive” drugs	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
388	Kyl C21	Greater flexibility using HSA account to pay expenses	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
389	Kyl C22	Expanded definition of “qualified medical expenses”	Would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan
538	Roberts F4	Strike provisons that prohibits cost of over-the-counter medicine form being reimbursed trough a health FSA, HRA, HSA or Archer MSA	proportionate reduction in spending needed in spending in the Chairman’s Mark
404	Ensign C5	Health account balance protection act to protect HSA balances from bankruptcy	None required
405	Ensign C6	Health savings account coverage protection to make HSAs an eligible benefit, not withstanding any other provision of law or this act	None required
538	Roberts F4	Strike provisons that prohibits cost of over-the-counter medicine form being reimbursed trough a health FSA, HRA, HSA or Archer MSA	proportionate reduction in spending needed in spending in the Chairman’s Mark

 

 

Rockefeller Financing Amendment #2 to America’s Healthy Future Act Rockefeller Amendment #F2 to Title VI

Short Title: The amendment would eliminate Health Savings Accounts.

Description of Amendment: Eliminate Health Savings Accounts effective January 1, 2010. Offset: The amendment would be a revenue raiser.

 

Roberts-Hatch Financing Amendments

Roberts Amendment #2

to the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Ensuring Individuals and Families Can Keep Their Health Care Benefits

Amendment Description: The Chairman’s Mark imposes a 35% tax on health insurance companies and administrators for any health insurance plan that is above $8,000 per individual and $21,000 for a family plan. This threshold includes any contributions to a FSA, HRA, HSA, and coverage for dental, vision and other supplemental plans. To preserve these important benefits and ensure that individuals and families can keep these benefits the amendment excludes FSAs, HRAs, HSAs, dental, vision and other supplemental plans from the threshold amount.

Offset: A proportionate reduction as needed in spending in the Chairman’s Mark.

 

Ensign Amendment #F8 to America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: An amendment to strike the provision in the Chairman‟s bill that raises the penalty on non-qualified medical expense withdrawals from HSAs.

Description of Amendment: This amendment would maintain the current penalty of 10% on non-qualified medical expense withdrawals from HSAs rather than raise it to 20% per the Chairman‟s bill.   Given the economic downturn and hardship on all Americans, the 10% tax penalty is sufficient to penalize Americans when they make non-qualified medical expense withdrawals. Americans who make such non-qualified withdrawals and are willing to pay a 10% tax penalty in the near future are under economic duress already, and further penalizing them would be too extreme and contrary to the President‟s promise not to raise taxes on middle income families.

JCT scored the Chairman‟s provision as raising $1.3 billion over ten years; offset to be derived from a proportionate decrease in certain spending provisions in the Chairman‟s bill except for Medicare spending.

 

KYL AMENDMENT #C17

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Increase Current Limits on HSA Contributions

Description of Amendment: Under current law, contributions to HSAs are limited annually under a formula specified in the statute. The limits are adjusted annually for inflation by the IRS. In 2009 the annual contribution limit for self-only coverage is $3000 and for family coverage is $5,950. Prior to 2007, contributions could not exceed the individual’s HDHP deductible.

Although some HDHPs cover 100% of expenses after the deductible is met, many HDHPs charge co-insurance until a higher limit on out-of-pocket expenses (including deductibles, co-payments, and coinsurance) is met. Under current law, these limits cannot exceed $5,800 for HDHP self-only coverage and $11,600 for family coverage in 2009. The limits are adjusted annually for inflation by the IRS.

People with HSAs that have out-of-pocket limits above the annual HSA contribution limits cannot deposit enough money into their HSAs to cover all their potential out-of-pocket expenses. This amendment would increase the annual HSA contribution limits to equal the amount of the individual’s HDHP out-of-pocket maximum (i.e., as high as $5,800 for singles and $11,600 for families in 2009).

Effective Date: Upon Enactment Offset: The amendment would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan.

 

KYL AMENDMENT #C18

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Improved opportunities to rollover funds from Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to fund Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

Description of Amendment: Current law allows employers that offered Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs) or Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) to roll over unused funds to an HSA as employees transitioned to an HSA for the first time. However, the unused FSA funds may not be rolled over to HSAs unless the employer offers a “grace period” that allows medical expenses to be reimbursed from an FSA through March 15 of the following year (instead of the usual “use or lose” by December 31) and must be made before 2012. In addition, the amount that may be rolled over to the HSA cannot exceed the amount in such an account as of September 21, 2006. This amendment would clarify current law to provide employers greater opportunity to roll-over of funds from employees’ FSAs or HRAs to their HSAs in a future year in order to ease the transition from FSAs and HRAs to HSAs.

Effective Date: Upon Enactment Offset: The amendment would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan.

 

KYL AMENDMENT #C19

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Catch-up contributions by spouses may be made to one Health Savings Account (HSA)

Description of Amendment: Current law allows HSA-eligible individuals age 55 or older to make additional catch-up contributions each year. However, the contributions must be deposited into separate HSA accounts even if both spouses are eligible to make catch-up contributions. This amendment would allow the spouse who is the HSA account holder to double their catch-up contribution to account for their eligible spouse. Effective Date: Upon Enactment Offset: The amendment would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan.

 

KYL AMENDMENT #C20

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Expanded Definition of “Preventive” Drugs Description of Amendment: Current law allows “preventive care” services to be paid by HSA-qualified plans without being subject to the policy deductible. Although IRS guidance allowed certain types of prescription drugs to be considered “preventive care,” the guidance generally does not permit plans to include drugs that prevent complications resulting from chronic conditions.

This amendment would expand the definition of “preventive care” to include medications that prevent worsening of or complications from chronic conditions. This will provide additional flexibility to health plans that want to provide coverage for these medications and remove a perceived barrier to HSAs for people with chronic conditions. Effective Date: Upon Enactment Offset: The amendment would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan.

 

KYL AMENDMENT #C21

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Greater Flexibility Using HSA Account to Pay Expenses

Description of Amendment: When people enroll in an HSA-qualified plan, some let a few months elapse between the time when their coverage starts (e.g., January) and when the health savings bank account is set up and becomes operational (e.g., March). However, the IRS does not allow for medical expenses incurred in that gap (between January and March) to be reimbursed with HSA funds.

This amendment would allow all “qualified medical expenses” (as defined under the tax code) incurred after HSA-qualified coverage begins to be reimbursed from an HSA account as long as the account is established by April 15 of the following year.

Effective Date: Upon Enactment Offset: The amendment would tie the premium tax credit to the lowest cost bronze plan.

 

Ensign Amendment #C5 to America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Health Account Balance Protection Act

Explanation: Under current law, HSAs are not exempt from the claims of creditors in federal bankruptcy cases and virtually all state laws are silent on this matter (i.e., do not address the situation). However, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) were made exempt under federal law in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-8). Since HSAs can accumulate (and be invested) just like IRAs, these accounts should be treated like IRAs when it comes to bankruptcy.

The amendment would protect HSA dollars from the claims of creditors in federal bankruptcy cases.

 

Ensign Amendment #C6 to America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Health Savings Account Coverage Protection

Explanation: The amendment requires that regardless of any provision of any other law, including the Chairman’s mark, that plans defined under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code are deemed to be qualified benefits plans and that the provisions of Section 223 supercede any provisions of this bill.

 

Roberts Financing Amendments

Roberts Amendment #4

to the America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Short Title: Preserving Health Care Benefits for Individuals and Families

Amendment Description: Strike the provision in the Chairman’s Mark that prohibits the cost of over-the-counter medicine from being reimbursed through a health FSA, HRA, HSA or Archer MSA.

Offset: A proportionate reduction as needed in spending in the Chairman’s Mark.