[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 24, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HEALTH SAVINGS ACT GIVES MORE FLEXIBILITY TO MEET HEALTH CARE NEEDS

  (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, hardworking families in Minnesota and 
around the country want more flexibility, more choice, and lower costs 
when it comes to their own health care. Instead of a top-down approach, 
patients should be able to work with their doctor to determine what is 
best to meet their health care needs.
  One of the best tools to provide more flexibility for patients are 
health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. HSAs and FSAs 
are a great way to save for future medical expenses.
  However, due to certain loopholes in current law, employers are often 
discouraged from contributing to their employees' accounts. That is why 
I have introduced legislation, the Health Savings Act, that would 
remove this loophole and encourage companies to contribute directly to 
their employees' HSAs and FSAs.
  The bill also would bring in seniors and Active Duty military 
personnel into the mix by allowing contributions to be made to those 
accounts under Medicare and TRICARE. It also makes commonsense fixes to 
the current rules regarding HSAs and FSAs. For instance, patients would 
now be able to purchase over-the-counter medications such as aspirin or 
allergy medicine without getting a prescription from their doctor 
first.
  Mr. Speaker, let's give the American people more choice and more 
flexibility. Let's pass the Health Savings Act.

                          ____________________