Direct primary care access would be expanded under bipartisan Smucker bill

A bipartisan bill recently offered by U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) would expand access to direct primary care (DPC) by allowing individuals with direct primary care service arrangements to be eligible for health savings accounts.

“Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service’s interpretation of current tax law prevents individuals with health savings accounts (HSAs) from accessing DPC, even when their colleagues without HSAs can do so,” Rep. Smucker said on May 4. “I am thankful for my colleagues’ support of this bipartisan legislation to expand access to DPC.”

Rep. Smucker on April 28 sponsored the Primary Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 3029, with five original cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).

“I am proud to collaborate with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to introduce this bipartisan legislation to expand access to affordable primary care,” said Rep. Smucker. “As a former business owner that provided health insurance for over 150 employees, I know that innovative care delivery models like direct primary care put patients in charge of their health, improve outcomes, and reduce costs for businesses and employees.”

If enacted, H.R. 3029 would clarify provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to remove barriers for individuals with HSAs from using those funds to access DPC, which is a healthcare delivery model that provides high-quality care at lower cost, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s office.

Specifically, the bill would clarify two provisions that currently treat such payment arrangements for employees and individuals as health insurance rather than medical services, the summary says, and would allow patients using DPC to contribute to their HSAs and use HSA funds to pay for direct primary care fees.

H.R. 3029 is companion legislation to the same-named S. 628, which U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) sponsored on March 2 alongside four original cosponsors, including U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

The bill is supported by the Corporate Health Care Coalition, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Direct Primary Care Coalition.

“Direct primary care is a model proven to improve patient outcomes and experiences,” said Rep. Blumenauer. “This legislation removes unnecessary barriers in the tax code to allow more people to access high-quality services while saving money. I look forward to working with Congressman Smucker on this important bipartisan legislation.”

Reps. Smucker and Blumenauer on April 26 also joined bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) to introduce the Primary Care Enhancement Act, H.R. 2884, which would grant state Medicaid programs the ability to broaden healthcare access for beneficiaries by allowing the use of direct primary care services, according to Rep. Smucker’s office.