Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3800) to codify Internal Revenue Service guidance relating to treatment of certain services and items for chronic conditions as meeting the preventive care deductible safe harbor for purposes of high deductible health plans in connection with health savings accounts, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 6 in 10 Americans live with at least one chronic disease, such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Nearly 90 percent of the $4.1 trillion in annual healthcare spending in this country goes toward the treatment of patients with chronic diseases.

Part of improving the delivery of healthcare in America must be expanding the opportunity for folks to better manage their chronic health conditions so that they can live longer, healthier lives, and we can bring down the financial impact of healthcare on individuals, families, businesses, and the government.

The Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act, introduced by Ways and Means colleagues Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Blumenauer, will expand treatment and disease management options by allowing employers that offer high-deductible healthcare plans to also offer predeductible coverage, otherwise known as first-dollar coverage, for 14 chronic healthcare services.

Those services include beta blockers for patients with congestive heart failure, blood pressure monitors for patients with high blood pressure, inhalers for patients with asthma, and cholesterol drugs and testing for patients with heart disease. The list does not have to end there. In fact, the bill also allows for that list of covered services to be expanded in the future.

The Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act actually codifies a Trump administration policy that will incentivize employers to offer coverage for these services so that they can lower healthcare costs for their workers and their businesses.

High-deductible health plans are a great option for employers and employees looking for more affordable coverage, and this bill will make them even more beneficial to individuals with chronic disease.

Flexibilities like these in care delivery and coverage options are key to improving patient outcomes, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to

the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).

Mr. Speaker, this legislation was approved by the Ways and Means Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope we can show that same level of support here today. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

I rise today in support of H.R. 3800, the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act. I am proud to lead this bill with my colleague Earl Blumenauer.

As a physician, I have seen firsthand the impact that chronic disease is having on patients. Six in ten Americans live with at least one chronic disease. According to the CDC, approximately 90 percent of the United States' healthcare spending is attributed to managing and treating patients with chronic diseases and mental health conditions.

Clearly, we must take action to help Americans living with chronic disease better manage and treat their conditions. This bill would give employers who offer high-deductible health plans the option to cover 14 chronic care management medical services before an individual reaches their deductible.

In doing this, this bill allows employers the flexibility that helps incentivize their employees to adhere to services that help manage their chronic condition and keep them healthier. This is a win-win-win. It is a win for the patient, a win for the employer, and a win for our Nation, where we manage healthy patients and keep them healthy so that they will be able to go to work and live a full life.

Surveys show that when you offer employers the opportunity to expand predeductible services, they see the value in doing so and choose to give their employees that very opportunity.

Every American deserves to live a healthy life or as healthy as possible considering their health situation. This bill would help Americans do just that, by better managing and treating chronic conditions that affect so many of our fellow citizens.

Patients are served well when their disease is treated before it progresses and gets worse. When patients with chronic disease can access care sooner, they can stay healthier longer. A healthy nation is a strong nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act is sponsored by Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Earl Blumenauer. I thank my colleague Dr. Wenstrup and my friend Earl Blumenauer for their tireless work in healthcare and on healthcare issues.

As Earl prepares to retire, I recognize that he has long been a champion for improving care and services for those with chronic illnesses. I will miss his leadership on the Ways and Means Committee and in Congress.

While I voted against the bill in committee, I do understand the principle about trying to protect people from high out-of-pocket costs. This bill codifies the safe harbor for preventive services for high- deductible plans that offer additional preventive benefits predeductible.

Given that the bill codifies the regulation, it is not making a new policy or giving Americans any protections they don't currently enjoy.

While I understand the desire to help workers stuck in high- deductible plans, we really need to look at the impact high-deductible plans are having on patients and families and how they contribute to medical debt.

More than 100 million Americans are saddled with medical debt that can often be as a result of plans with high deductibles. We know out- of-pocket costs deter Americans from getting the care that they need, and we must change that.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time.