[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure 
that I rise tonight to spend 5 minutes talking about health savings 
accounts. Clearly, much of the attention that our Nation has given to 
the medicare drug benefit has focused on the long overdue nature of the 
fact that we do need a drug benefit for senior citizens on medicare. 
For instance, Mr. Speaker, it is not acceptable that under medicare, 
expensive heart surgery is paid for, but the far cheaper prescription 
medications that will prevent senior citizens from having to have 
expensive heart surgery is not paid for.

                              {time}  2000

  And this is a long overdue reform.
  But a little noticed section of the Medicare drug benefit legislation 
deals with health savings accounts.
  Mr. Speaker, you may recall that in the past we have had medical 
savings accounts that individuals can use but they have been very 
flexible and difficult to use. And with this important legislation that 
now allows for health savings accounts along with House passed efforts 
for medical liability reform, as well as associated health plans, we 
are making attempts in the House to lower the cost of health insurance 
and to improve accessibility.
  How do health savings accounts work? Well, first of all, individuals, 
their family members, or their employers can put tax-free dollars into 
an IRA-type of account that will be able to be rolled over for use for 
bona fide medical expenses. An individual can contribute $2,600, a 
family, couple, $5,150.
  As I said, if you do not use all of the health savings account tax-
free dollars that you have put into your account in one year, it can 
roll over, can accumulate so senior citizens can use it, for instance, 
when they retire, for some expenses that they might not traditionally 
found Medicare has paid for. It can be part of one's estate, inherited 
by one's children.
  As I indicated before, individuals can contribute to this as can 
family members or employers. It can be transferred from job to job. And 
if you are in the age group of 55 to 65, you can do catch-up 
contributions of up to $1,000 more because retirement is coming along 
fairly quickly. This increased flexibility is what has made health 
savings accounts very exciting for people that are looking for market-
based mechanisms to reform health care and to improve its delivery 
across our Nation.
  What can health savings accounts be used for? Number one, for bona 
fide medical expenses. It can be used for many different things that 
are not traditionally covered by health insurance, chiropractic care, 
acupuncture. This will enable alternative medicine to get the kind of 
attention that sometimes is missing from health insurance policies. And 
it can be used for the purchase of higher-deductible health care 
policies, $1,000 for an individual, and $2,000 for a family.
  So the use of tax-free dollars, Mr. Speaker, for medical attention, 
for medical care, is going to transform, I believe, the way that we 
purchase health insurance in this country and how we judge health 
insurance. Because no longer will it be somebody else's money, an 
insurance company's money or something like that; it will be our own 
money that we have earned.
  And so the practice of defensive medicine might be shrunk a little 
bit, unnecessary tests will be diminished because anybody using their 
health savings account dollars will be using their own money. So we 
will be much wiser consumers of medical care in this country.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I certainly encourage all Americans who are eligible 
for health savings accounts to look at them carefully because they are 
part of the law that has already been implemented.
  One can create their own health savings account as of January 1, 
2004. And as we approach April 15, it is a good time to think about 
doing that. Because as I said, like an IRA, they are simple to use, 
easy to set up, and certainly, when all is said and done, this will 
transform how we purchase health insurance in our country in a very 
positive way.

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