I want to tell my colleagues and the public about a part of the [One] Big Beautiful Bill that passed two weeks ago that isn’t getting much attention.
I’ve been a long-time supporter of health savings accounts.
They encourage responsible utilization of health care services by offering lower-cost insurance and greater flexibility of care.
I’m proud to have led the charge in the early 2000s to make health savings accounts accessible and a stronger option for Americans.
Today, would you believe it, over 30 million Americans have a health savings account with an average balance of more than $3,000.
Senate Republicans through the One Big Beautiful Bill went a step further, strengthening health savings accounts.
First, the bill allowed health savings accounts to work with direct primary care service arrangements.
Direct primary care is a membership-based model of care that lets patients choose a primary care provider of their choice and gain access to a suite of care options without needing to go through an insurance company’s red tape.
Doctors and providers under this way also benefit since they can spend more time with the patient rather than completing unnecessary paperwork.
When patients have access to timely and high-quality primary care they have better health outcomes and live longer.
Prior to the law change, there were rules preventing consumers from contributing to and using a health savings account for direct primary care.
Direct primary care will also improve rural health care by expanding access to physicians and other health care providers and also expanding access to telehealth to reach patients in a more timely fashion.
We also allow individuals who have purchased a catastrophic or bronze health plan on the federal marketplace to now contribute to and use a health savings account.
In addition, this will improve access and competition on the federal marketplace, and that, we all know, is sorely needed.
