On Monday, Senators John Thune and Tom Carper introduced the Chronic Disease Management Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation creating a Health Savings Account preventive care safe harbor for management of chronic conditions.
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday, Senators John Thune and Tom Carper introduced the Chronic Disease Management Act of 2019, bipartisan legislation creating a Health Savings Account preventive care safe harbor for management of chronic conditions.
The Smarter Health Care Coalition, representing patients and consumers, employers, providers, health plans, life science companies, and public-sector purchasers strongly support this important legislation to ensure that individuals with chronic illnesses have access to needed care. We applaud the dedication and hard work of Senators Thune and Carper authoring this critical legislation to help Americans get more health out of every health care dollar we spend, and we urge Congress to swiftly pass the bill.
Approximately 60 percent of all Americans have at least one chronic condition and about 42 percent suffer from two or more. Each year millions of Americans struggle to receive the appropriate care due to high out-of-pocket costs. Studies show that chronic conditions account for $.90 of every dollar spent on health care and, without appropriate management, lead to adverse effects on health outcomes and quality of life. Plans coupling high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are currently prohibited from offering services and medications to manage chronic conditions on a pre-deductible basis, creating cost barriers to care for chronically ill patients.
The Chronic Disease Management Act of 2019 addresses this problem by allowing HSA-HDHPs to provide plan members access to health care services and medications that manage chronic conditions on a pre-deductible basis. Doing so will yield an enormous benefit to patients, employers, and payers alike, including improved health, enhanced workplace productivity, and the avoidance of unnecessary emergency care visits and hospitalizations. This common-sense reform will benefit patients and will ensure a more rational and sustainable health care system.
The Coalition strongly encourages swift passage of this critical legislation that will help patients with chronic illnesses access high-value health care services and medications that ensure optimal health and well-being.
For more information, please visit: www.smarterhc.org
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrew MacPherson
Co-Director, Smarter Health Care Coalition 202-420-8505
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SOURCE Smarter Health Care Coalition
