Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR90 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R14371 KSM-D
2	2	By: Shaheen H.C.R. No. 90
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, An effective way to offset the increasing cost of
7	7	health care is to use direct primary care for all primary health
8	8	care services and use a high deductible health insurance plan in
9	9	combination with a health savings account to cover more expensive
10	10	care and hospitalization; and
11	11	WHEREAS, In direct primary care, a single low monthly fee to a
12	12	physician or clinic covers all primary care services, with no
13	13	preexisting condition exclusions, no disagreements over covered
14	14	treatments, no insurance forms to fill out, and no deductibles or
15	15	co-pays; and
16	16	WHEREAS, A high deductible health insurance plan in
17	17	combination with a health savings account is offered by the
18	18	Employees Retirement System (ERS) of Texas to state employees; the
19	19	ERS notes that health savings accounts are like tax-free nest eggs
20	20	for health care expenses because contributions are tax-free, up to
21	21	a certain amount set by the Internal Revenue Service; withdrawals
22	22	are not taxed, as long as the money is used for qualified health
23	23	expenses, and interest and investment earnings are not taxed; and
24	24	WHEREAS, Unfortunately, Texans who enroll in a high
25	25	deductible health insurance plan in combination with a health
26	26	savings account cannot use their health savings account to pay for
27	27	direct primary care because of an Internal Revenue Service ruling
28	28	that direct primary care constitutes a second health insurance
29	29	plan, which is prohibited under federal law governing tax-free
30	30	contributions to a health savings account; and
31	31	WHEREAS, Like many other states, Texas has passed legislation
32	32	to establish that direct primary care is not insurance and that a
33	33	physician providing direct primary care in return for a monthly
34	34	retainer is not subject to regulation by the Texas Department of
35	35	Insurance for the direct primary care; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Likewise, a federal regulation adopted by
37	37	the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement the
38	38	Affordable Care Act treats direct primary care clinics, known as
39	39	medical homes, as a health benefit, not a health insurance plan; and
40	40	WHEREAS, Despite state and federal action to clarify that
41	41	direct primary care is not insurance, congressional action is
42	42	needed to allow health savings accounts to be used for direct
43	43	primary care; such action would benefit many Texans, including
44	44	those in rural communities, by encouraging more patients to get
45	45	their care from a personal physician, rather than a hospital
46	46	emergency room, and by encouraging more physicians to practice in
47	47	direct primary care; now, therefore, be it
48	48	RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
49	49	hereby urge Congress to allow health savings accounts to be used for
50	50	direct primary care; and, be it further
51	51	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
52	52	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
53	53	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
54	54	Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
55	55	members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
56	56	this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
57	57	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.