[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 59 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H2052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PRESERVING HEALTH CARE CHOICES FOR AMERICANS

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, more and more American consumers are 
discovering a provision in the President's new health care law that 
prevents them from buying simple, over-the-counter medications using 
their health care savings accounts or their flexible spending accounts 
unless they first get a doctor's prescription.
  Instead of walking into their local drugstores to use their HSAs or 
their FSAs, Americans are now forced to visit a doctor and pay a 
standard copay before finally receiving a prescription to buy medicines 
like Advil or Claritin. Does this sound burdensome? That's because it 
absolutely is.
  Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans use HSAs and FSAs for their 
flexibility and portability, yet this new health care law is taking 
that away and is wreaking havoc on patients and also increasing burdens 
on physicians.
  We need to repeal this onerous provision, and that's why I've 
introduced legislation that does exactly that, with bipartisan support.
  Mr. Speaker, this week, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold 
a hearing on the use of HSAs and FSAs on over-the-counter medicine 
practices, and I hope we'll all agree that individuals, families, 
patients, and doctors make the best decisions for their health care 
needs, not the government. It's time to do away with this onerous 
prescription requirement.

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