[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 105 (Thursday, July 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4609-S4610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROBERTS (for himself and Mr. Nelson of Nebraska):
  S. 1368. A bill to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act to repeal distributions for medicine qualified only if for 
prescribed drug or insulin; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bipartisan 
bill, the Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2011. This bill would 
repeal the portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
which requires individuals to have a prescription to spend the money 
they have saved in their Flexible Spending Accounts.
  Flexible Spending Accounts, FSAs, Health Savings Accounts, HSAs, and 
other medical savings arrangements provide plan participants with an 
affordable, convenient and accessible means to manage their health care 
expenses.
  More than 35 million Americans participate in FSAs and more than 10 
million Americans participate in a HSA. These accounts allow plan 
participants to set aside their own dollars on a pre-tax basis to pay 
for health care expenses, giving individuals control over health care 
decisions and how to pay for that care.
  A key benefit of these plans prior to enactment of the Patient 
Protection

[[Page S4610]]

and Affordable Care Act, PPACA, was the ability for participants to use 
the dollars they set aside in these plans to pay for the cost of over-
the-counter medications.
  However, under PPACA, plan participants may no longer use funds from 
these accounts to purchase over-the-counter medications, unless they 
have a prescription for the medication.
  This prohibition takes away choice from individuals about how to 
manage their health care expenses and adds yet another burden to 
physicians, as some plan participants will seek a prescription for 
over-the-counter medications. And, worst of all, it injects increased 
costs into our health care system.
  Rather than promoting cost-effectiveness and accessibility, this 
provision instead directs participants to potentially more costly, less 
convenient, and more time-consuming alternatives. Further, it injects 
unnecessary confusion and complexity into a system that was previously 
straightforward and easy for consumers to utilize.
  This bill repeals Sec. 9003 of the PPACA and restores the ability of 
plan participants to use the funds in their FSA, HRA, HSA or Archers 
MSA to purchase OTC medications, allowing them to better manage the 
cost of their health care expenses.
  A family physician from Leawood, Kansas told me, ``I am pleased that 
legislation is being introduced to reverse this policy. Many of my 
patients face undue burdens purchasing needed medications that are 
essential to their health maintenance and overall wellbeing. Reversal 
of this policy will allow my patients to continue to purchase the 
numerous beneficial over-the-counter products that are so important in 
our daily lives and will eliminate a substantial administrative burden 
on my practice.''
  In Kansas, and throughout the U.S., a broad coalition of groups 
support this legislation, including the U.S. Chamber, NFIB, pharmacist 
groups, drug store organizations and consumer groups.
  I would invite my colleagues to join me in this effort by 
cosponsoring this legislation.
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