President Trump Issues Executive Order on Medical Price Transparency That Also Addresses HSA and FSA

President Trump Issues Executive Order on Medical Price Transparency That Also Addresses HSA and FSA

Tuesday, June 25, 2019  

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Posted by: Martin Trussell



On Monday, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First.”  This Executive Order directs various departments of the government to develop regulations and other materials aimed at improving transparency in healthcare pricing and quality. 

Of particular interest to ECFC members is Section 6 of the Executive Order which directs the Department of the Treasury (which would include the Internal Revenue Service) to the extent permitted under current law to:

1.       Issue guidance that would allow an HSA compatible high deductible health plan to provide low-cost preventive care before the deductible for medical care that helps maintain the health status of individuals suffering from chronic conditions. This guidance is required to be issued within 120 days after the date of the order.
2.       Propose regulations that would treat certain types of arrangements (possibly including direct primary care arrangements and healthcare sharing ministries) as qualified medical expenses – which would mean that these expenses could be reimbursed by an FSA, HRA or HSA.  These regulations must be proposed within 180 days after the date of the order.
3.        Issue guidance that would increase the amount that can be carried over in an FSA.  This guidance is required to be issued within 180 days after the date of the order.

Note that the order says that the guidance issued must be permitted under current law, so the Treasury and IRS may not have the authority to issue guidance as broad as contemplated by the Executive Order. We will keep the membership abreast of any actions taken by the Treasury and IRS in accordance with this Executive Order. 

The Executive Order can be found here.