House Committee passes legislation repealing excise tax on medical devices

June 1, 2012 — The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee approved several bills including two that repealed specific provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

The first measure, H.R. 436, would repeal PPACA’s 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices, which is often passed on to providers. The other, H.R. 5842, would repeal the law’s restrictions on using tax-preferred accounts — such as flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) — to pay for over-the-counter drugs and certain supplements. The excise tax on medical devices is due to go into effect in 2013.

The Committee also approved H.R. 1004, a bill that would allow money left in a participant’s FSA at the end of a plan year to be distributed back to the individual and treated as normal, taxable income.

A final bill approved today by the Committee, H.R. 5858, would make a variety of changes to the rules for health savings accounts (HSAs). The changes would include allowing low-income workers to receive a tax credit for contributions to HSAs. The credit would be included with an existing credit for contributions to retirement accounts, and would be limited based on income. Many patients today utilize HSAs to cover chiropractic services.

The full House of Representatives is expected to consider the bills sometime in June. Read more here.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, acatoday.org