
On July 18, 2019, Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Jason Smith (R-MO) introduced H.R. 3796, the Health Savings for Seniors Act. This bipartisan bill would allow individuals enrolled in Medicare to maintain eligibility for health savings account (HSA) contributions. The proposed bill is designed to increase access to care and alleviate the rising out-of-pocket expenses for the 57 million older Americans currently enrolled in Medicare.
A summary of the proposed bill is as follows:
The Health Savings for Seniors Act follows recent guidance from the Department of Treasury, IRS Notice 2019-45, which names additional medicines and services that can be treated as preventive care and which may be included in HDHPs before the deductible for those with chronic conditions.