The House Ways and Means Committee approved two bills that would enhance Health Savings Accounts, but their cost and the lack of Democratic support will make enactment difficult.
The Bipartisan HSA Improvement Act of 2023 (H.R. 5688) advanced on a 28-14 vote with four Democrats supporting it. The HSA Modernization Act of 2023 (H.R. 5687) passed 24-18 without any Democratic votes. The bills would expand the ability of taxpayers to contribute to HSAs and expand the services that HSAs can be used to pay for. There are no current plans for a vote on the House floor.
H.R. 5688 is less costly and has some bipartisan support, but is not likely a high enough priority in either party for it to gain traction when there are so few opportunities for tax legislation. H.R. 5687 would cost $58 billion, with $44 billion coming from a provision that would nearly double the contribution limit to cover the combined total of the maximum deductible and out-of-pocket costs for the associated health plans.
The Ways and Means Committee also released legislation that would expand the definition of a qualified disaster for claiming disaster-related casualty losses and exclude certain wildfire relief payments from income. The Ways and Means scheduled but then cancelled a markup of the bill last week.
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