Baucus Health Plan Poses New Threat to Flexible Spending Accounts

Yesterday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) made it clear that he intends to fund health care reform by restricting access and reducing the value of your flexible spending account (FSA).  We need your help to help protect FSAs.

Specifically, Sen. Baucus proposes

• Imposing a $2,000 cap on contributions to FSAs which will force many to pay higher taxes and health care costs. This includes individuals and families batting chronic conditions that rely on their FSAs to cover out-of-pocket expenses for ongoing care and medical supplies.
  
  
• Lumping FSAs together with major medical plans and including the benefit in an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans. Ultimately, this could discourage some employers from offering the benefit.
  
  
• Limiting the use of FSAs for over-the-counter medications unless you have a doctor's prescription.

At the same time, we are fighting back a proposal approved by the House Ways and Means Committee that bans using money set aside in FSAs to buy over-the-counter medications such as aspirin and allergy medications. 

Even if you've already emailed and called your elected representatives, we encourage you to call or email them again in response to the Baucus plan.  For contact information for your Arkansas legislators, click here. We have also attached a form letter which you can access by clicking here. For more information on the debate, go to www.savemyflexplan.org.  The threat to FSAs is real and your voice will make a difference.

Thank you for your diligence,
DataPath Administrative Services, Inc.