Erik Paulsen: “Hardworking families in Minnesota and around the country want more flexibility, more choice, and lower costs when it…”

“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. ____________________”