[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 144 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5273-H5274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHRONIC DISEASE FLEXIBLE COVERAGE ACT
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3800) to codify Internal Revenue Service guidance
relating to treatment of certain services and items for chronic
conditions as meeting the preventive care deductible safe harbor for
purposes of high deductible health plans in connection with health
savings accounts, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3800
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Chronic Disease Flexible
Coverage Act''.
SEC. 2. SERVICES AND ITEMS FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS TREATED AS
PREVENTIVE CARE.
(a) In General.--The additional preventive care services
and items for chronic conditions that may be treated as
preventive care for purposes of section 223(c)(2)(C) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as set forth in IRS Notice
2019-45 shall have the same force and effect as if included
in the enactment of this Act.
(b) No Inference.--To the extent not inconsistent with this
section, no inference shall be made from subsection (a) with
respect to such other rules or guidance as the Secretary has
provided, or may provide, with respect to preventive services
for purposes of section 223(c)(2)(C) of such Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, 6 in 10 Americans live with at least one chronic
disease, such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Nearly 90 percent
of the $4.1 trillion in annual healthcare spending in this country goes
toward the treatment of patients with chronic diseases.
Part of improving the delivery of healthcare in America must be
expanding the opportunity for folks to better manage their chronic
health conditions so that they can live longer, healthier lives, and we
can bring down the financial impact of healthcare on individuals,
families, businesses, and the government.
The Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act, introduced by Ways and
Means colleagues Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Blumenauer, will
expand treatment and disease management options by allowing employers
that offer high-deductible healthcare plans to also offer predeductible
coverage, otherwise known as first-dollar coverage, for 14 chronic
healthcare services.
Those services include beta blockers for patients with congestive
heart failure, blood pressure monitors for patients with high blood
pressure, inhalers for patients with asthma, and cholesterol drugs and
testing for patients with heart disease. The list does not have to end
there. In fact, the bill also allows for that list of covered services
to be expanded in the future.
The Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act actually codifies a Trump
administration policy that will incentivize employers to offer coverage
for these services so that they can lower healthcare costs for their
workers and their businesses.
High-deductible health plans are a great option for employers and
employees looking for more affordable coverage, and this bill will make
them even more beneficial to individuals with chronic disease.
Flexibilities like these in care delivery and coverage options are
key to improving patient outcomes, and I encourage all of my colleagues
to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act is sponsored
by Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Earl Blumenauer. I thank my
colleague Dr. Wenstrup and my friend Earl Blumenauer for their tireless
work in healthcare and on healthcare issues.
As Earl prepares to retire, I recognize that he has long been a
champion for improving care and services for those with chronic
illnesses. I will miss his leadership on the Ways and Means Committee
and in Congress.
While I voted against the bill in committee, I do understand the
principle about trying to protect people from high out-of-pocket costs.
This bill codifies the safe harbor for preventive services for high-
deductible plans that offer additional preventive benefits
predeductible.
Given that the bill codifies the regulation, it is not making a new
policy or giving Americans any protections they don't currently enjoy.
While I understand the desire to help workers stuck in high-
deductible plans, we really need to look at the impact high-deductible
plans are having on patients and families and how they contribute to
medical debt.
More than 100 million Americans are saddled with medical debt that
can often be as a result of plans with high deductibles. We know out-
of-pocket costs deter Americans from getting the care that they need,
and we must change that.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to
[[Page H5274]]
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).
Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
I rise today in support of H.R. 3800, the Chronic Disease Flexible
Coverage Act. I am proud to lead this bill with my colleague Earl
Blumenauer.
As a physician, I have seen firsthand the impact that chronic disease
is having on patients. Six in ten Americans live with at least one
chronic disease. According to the CDC, approximately 90 percent of the
United States' healthcare spending is attributed to managing and
treating patients with chronic diseases and mental health conditions.
Clearly, we must take action to help Americans living with chronic
disease better manage and treat their conditions. This bill would give
employers who offer high-deductible health plans the option to cover 14
chronic care management medical services before an individual reaches
their deductible.
In doing this, this bill allows employers the flexibility that helps
incentivize their employees to adhere to services that help manage
their chronic condition and keep them healthier. This is a win-win-win.
It is a win for the patient, a win for the employer, and a win for our
Nation, where we manage healthy patients and keep them healthy so that
they will be able to go to work and live a full life.
Surveys show that when you offer employers the opportunity to expand
predeductible services, they see the value in doing so and choose to
give their employees that very opportunity.
Every American deserves to live a healthy life or as healthy as
possible considering their health situation. This bill would help
Americans do just that, by better managing and treating chronic
conditions that affect so many of our fellow citizens.
Patients are served well when their disease is treated before it
progresses and gets worse. When patients with chronic disease can
access care sooner, they can stay healthier longer. A healthy nation is
a strong nation.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, this legislation was approved by
the Ways and Means Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, and
I hope we can show that same level of support here today. I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Edwards). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3800, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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