Restoring Access to Medication and Improving Health Savings Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Ms. JENKINS of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 793, I call up the bill (H.R. 1270) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the amendments made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which disqualify expenses for over-the-counter drugs under health savings accounts and health flexible spending arrangements, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Ms. JENKINS of Kansas. 1270, currently under consideration.

I rise today in support of H.R. 1270, the Restoring Access to Medication and Improving Health Savings Act. This bill contains policies that folks on both sides of the aisle can support and have supported in the past.

With the cost of health care rising, from hospital stays to doctor visits and prescription drugs, and the ever-present regulatory burdens of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, H.R. 1270 combines three measures that put the people back in control of their own healthcare spending, gain more access to the over-the-counter medications they need, and decrease government spending.

One of the most head-scratching provisions of ObamaCare requires people to get a doctor's prescription if they want to buy over-the- counter medicines at a pharmacy with their HSA money. This provision is just about the polar opposite to what most folks think of when buying aspirin or other common medicines at their pharmacy.

Instead of simply walking in and paying with their HSA card for that medicine, they are turned down and told to set up an appointment with their doctor just to get a script for that medicine. It does not decrease costs for the patient or the government. It actually increases the burden people have to get those medications. Now they must make the appointment, wait for days or weeks for the visit, and take that doctor's time away from sick patients, all to get some allergy medicine.

H.R. 1270 will allow people to use their HSAs to buy over-the-counter medications at pharmacies because, when someone needs some allergy medicine during this time, they should be able to get that medicine whenever they need it.

With that, H.R. 1270 will allow people to put more into their HSA accounts and match the amount of their deductible and out-of-pocket costs. It will allow people to contribute $6,550 individually and $13,100 for a family, and those amounts will grow with inflation.

Another provision that makes it harder to use an HSA declares that taxpayers may use HSA funds only for qualified medical expenses incurred after the establishment of the HSA, which might be some time after the establishment of the associated high-deductible health plan, or HDHP. The provision would treat HSAs opened within 60 days after gaining coverage under an HDHP as having been opened on the same day as the HDHP.

Also, for eligible older, married Americans, this bill allows them to contribute catch-up contributions to one shared HSA, simplifying the saving process and ultimately enabling them to save more and gain more control over their own health care.

Finally, H.R. 1270 will better protect taxpayer dollars and modify existing limits on the amounts to be repaid by those whose advance payments exceed the ObamaCare subsidy to which they are entitled. This is a bipartisan offset. Twice, Congress has voted to increase the amount of improper ObamaCare subsidy overpayments that need to be repaid. Increasing the recovery of improper subsidy overpayments was first proposed by Senate Democrats in the 2010 Medicare doc fix and extenders legislation. Former HHS Secretary Sebelius described this offset as making it ``fairer'' for all taxpayers.

As currently structured, the Democrats' healthcare law fails to adequately protect taxpayers from overpayments of the Federal subsidies to purchase health insurance, even in the case of fraud. The current law limits the amount of money that can be recouped if recipients receive a greater subsidy than they are entitled to, even if that means keeping thousands of extra dollars in overpayments.

H.R. 1270 ensures full repayment for those making more than 300 percent of the Federal poverty level and doubles the current repayment cap for those between 250 and 300 percent of the Federal poverty level. This is not a tax increase or a way to punish those who receive a pay increase; rather, it is a measure to show our constituents that we are taking care of their tax dollars by requiring the return of overpayments.

Ms. JENKINS OF Kansas. Mr. Speaker, as I said in my opening statement, this bill deserves bipartisan support.

It seems that the main objection from my Democratic colleagues relates to the ObamaCare subsidy overpayments, and our desire to get back some of the money that our constituents have received either fraudulently or not under this law is just a commonsense approach.

This is not a tax on poor Americans nor is it a Robin Hood-style break for rich Americans. Rather, it is a bipartisan offset that many of my friends on the other side of the aisle have voted for not once, but twice. It is a chance to fulfill our obligation to be good stewards of the dollars that hardworking Americans have paid in taxes.

We must pass H.R. 1270 to protect taxpayers, reduce the deficit by more than $2 billion, and show that we can agree to change some bad provisions in ObamaCare that drive up costs, decrease access, and unwisely spend taxpayer dollars.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. JENKINS of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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