By Gwen Cofield

Bills expanding access to account-based healthcare arrangements in various respects were approved June 15 by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means.x

The Health Care Security Act of 2016 (H.R. 5445), approved by a 23-15 vote, would increase the annual contribution limits to health savings accounts (HSA), allow catch-up contributions to the same account, and allow more flexibility between incurring expenses and actually setting up an account.

The Small Business Health Care Relief Act (H.R. 5447), approved by voice vote, would allow small employers to offer employees a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) to purchase individual coverage, rather than having to provide group health coverage as currently required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

H.R. 5447 “would not only help small employers provide a competitive health benefit to their employees, but also ensure we expand the universe of individuals who have the opportunity to afford health coverage,” said cosponsor Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., in a statement.

Stand-alone HRAs cannot be used to meet ACA’s employer mandate, regulators have indicated, because they run afoul of the act’s prohibition on annual dollar limits and requirement to cover preventive services without cost-sharing.

Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., sponsor of H.R. 5445, called his bill “a common-sense way to improve HSAs for individuals and families as they look to save for future health care expenses.”

However, Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the committee’s ranking Democrat, dismissed it as a tax shelter for the wealthy. “High-income people are the most likely to make maximum contributions to these accounts and are thus most likely to benefit from Mr. Paulsen’s bill,” he said in his statement.