Multi-Stakeholder Coalition Applauds the President's Efforts to Promote Smarter Health Care

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order advising the Secretary of Treasury to develop guidance to expand the scope of the preventive services safe harbor for health savings account-eligible (HSA-eligible) high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to permit the coverage of chronic disease management services on a pre-deductible basis.

The Smarter Health Care Coalition, representing patient groups, employers, life science companies, providers, health plans, and public-sector purchasers strongly supports allowing employers and plans more flexibility to design benefit packages that will meet the needs of their enrollees. We applaud the continued work of the Administration to pursue policies that get more health out of every health care dollar our country spends. Our diverse coalition welcomes Treasury Department guidance that will allow low-cost chronic disease prevention to be covered on a pre-deductible basis by Health Savings Account-eligible plans.

The Coalition has long supported and called for updated guidance to expand the preventive service safe harbor for HSA-eligible HDHPs to cover chronic disease management services. This strongly aligns with our mission to advance value-based insurance design (V-BID), and we believe these provisions will improve the affordability and utilization of high-value health care services, nationwide.

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 $.86 of every dollar spent on health care and, without appropriate management, lead to adverse effects on health outcomes and quality of life. HSA-eligible HDHPs are currently prohibited from offering most services and medications to manage chronic conditions on a pre-deductible basis, creating cost barriers to care for chronically ill patients.

This Executive Order addresses this problem by directing the Secretary of Treasury to expand the current preventive services safe harbor to allow HSA-HDHPs to provide plan members access to health care services 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.

For more information: www.smarterhc.org

MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrew MacPherson
Co-Director, Smarter Health Care Coalition 
202-420-8505

SOURCE Smarter Health Care Coalition