H.R. 5842, the Restoring Access to Medication Act, passed out of a Ways and Means Committee markup with bipartisan support.
The legislation seeks to allow funds from medical savings accounts, like Flexible Saving Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) to be used to pay for over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The Affordable Care Act requires a doctor’s prescription in order for these funds to be used to pay for OTC drugs, and H.R. 5842 would repeal that requirement.
OTC medications can sometimes meet consumers’ health care needs in place of expensive prescription drugs. H.R. 5842 seeks to make health care more affordable and allow HSA holders to make responsible choices.
AHIP recently released a new census, which found that 13.5 million Americans are currently enrolled in HSA-eligible health plans, a growth of 18 percent over the last year.
AHIP’s Health Savings Alliance, an advocacy coalition urging Congress to strengthen HSAs, sent a coalition update encouraging support for the bill.
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