Restoring responsible health care

Getting in to see your doctor on short notice can be a headache. But imagine being required to schedule an appointment before you can use your own money to buy Aspirin for a headache.

Unfortunately, because of the new health care law, this is a reality for 33 million Americans who choose to budget for their health care expenses with a flexible spending account (FSA) or a health savings account (HSA). Families with these accounts are now prohibited from using their own money, set aside specifically to cover health-related expenses, to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) medication without a doctor’s prescription.

In places like rural Nebraska, where health care practitioners are already in short supply, doctors cannot afford to have office schedules cluttered with unnecessary appointments to write prescriptions for standard painkillers, cold and flu medications and the like while folks with real health care needs are forced to take a number. The irony is the requirement was put in place to keep the health care law from appearing even more costly than it already does. And it’s not the only unwise change.

Another health law provision kicked in this year, limiting FSAs to a mere $2,500—again, a ploy aimed at making the $2.6 trillion health law look less costly at the expense of folks who plan ahead for their health care needs. Families that once used their FSAs to budget for their child’s braces, a process that could total $7,000, are now stuck searching for other ways to cover these expenses. This arbitrary cap is especially difficult for families who have children with special needs, whose tuition could be covered by an FSA. Specialized education for these children can cost up to $14,000 a year, well above the new FSA annual ceiling.

These mandates are not fair to individuals and families who take the initiative to plan for their health care costs. That’s why, this week, I introduced a bill to eliminate these provisions in the health care law. The Family Health Care Flexibility Act restores the original function of these plans by eliminating the prescription requirements for OTC medications for HSAs and FSAs and removing the arbitrary FSA cap.

Sadly, these changes are needed to restore flexibility and access in the wake of a law billed on exactly these ideas. Former Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in 2010 that Congress had to pass President Obama’s signature health care law “so you can find out what’s in it.” As we approach the third anniversary of the law’s enactment on March 23rd, Nebraskans continue to get a clearer picture of the harm being done by the rushed policies in this law.

These are just a few examples of this law’s negative ramifications, with more likely to follow. Responsible individuals should be allowed to budget for their health expenses, an option they were stripped of to mask the health law’s skyrocketing price tag. This is one of the many reasons I opposed this law when it was first offered and voted numerous times to repeal or defund it after it passed. Responsible Americans should not be required to pay an unfair price for a law that falls well short of achieving its own goals.

Sen. Johanns staff can be contacted at 202-224-4224.