IRS Issues Guidance for High-Deductible Insurance Plans

ANCOR is sharing this article by Politico Pro because it might be relevant to our members in their function as employers, in case their employees rely on high-deductible insurance plans.

As written by Politico Pro:

“The Trump administration is making it easier for millions of individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans to purchase drugs and medical equipment for chronic conditions like asthma, hypertension and diabetes.

Under guidance issued today by the IRS, the administration is expanding the definition of preventive care to let patients enrolled in high-deductible plans with pre-tax health-savings accounts combat costly medical conditions without having to first pay off their deductibles.

Patients with hypertension, for example, will be able to purchase a blood pressure monitor and diabetics will be able to get coverage for insulin without first having to pay down their deductible.

Meeting a deductible provides a disincentive to pro-actively address costly medical conditions and can lead to bigger medical bills in the long run.

A high-deductible health plan is currently defined as $1,350 for an individual and $2,700 for family coverage.

Enrollment in high-deductible health plans linked with health-savings accounts has grown dramatically in recent years. Nearly one in five individuals with employer-based coverage was enrolled in such plans in 2017, according to the CDC, up from fewer than one in 20 a decade earlier.”