House Committee Advances Telehealth and Chronic Disease Coverage Bills

The House Ways and Means Committee passed four HR Policy-supported bills that will permanently enable employers to offer improved telehealth and chronic disease benefits to employees enrolled in high deductible HSA health plans.

The Telehealth Expansion Act (H.R. 1843) would allow employers to permanently offer telehealth benefits without any deductible to employees enrolled in high deductible HSA health plans.

The Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act (H.R. 3800) would codify the IRS Covid-era safe harbor that allows employers to offer certain preventive care benefits without any deductible to employees enrolled in high deductible HSA health plans.

The Paperwork Burden Reduction Act (H.R. 3797) and the Employer Reporting Improvement Act (H.R. 3801) would reduce ACA related reporting costs for employers.

Separately, the House Education and Workforce Committee pulled the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 825) from a markup this week over jurisdictional issues with another House committee and announced they plan to vote on the bill in July. The bill will enable employers to offer telehealth benefits (as an excepted benefit) to part-time and seasonal employees that do not qualify for full health benefits.

Outlook: All four bills passed with broad bipartisan support, which suggests they will easily pass the full House later this year.