WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne says she’s on a mission to make healthcare more affordable and easier to access.
So, the Irving Republican reintroduced the “HSA Modernization Act” to expand access to health savings accounts (HSAs).
“This would actually give you an ability to be able to put more into it,” Congresswoman Van Duyne told us on Inside Texas Politics. “It’s expanding the number of people who can actually get into an HSA. It’s allowing spouses an opportunity to kind of play catch up with the amount of money that they can put in. And it’s just getting rid of a lot of the red tape.”
An HSA has tax advantages and can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
Congresswoman Van Duyne says her legislation will cut regulations and expand access to HSAs to more Americans, including disabled veterans, working seniors and Native Americans.
The Republican says the folks in her district, TX-24, want more flexibility with their HSAs, which are currently only available through high-deductible health plans, something that would change under the legislation.
“I think a lot of people would prefer to be able to make the choices on where those dollars are spent before they go to the government instead of after,” she argued.
A member of the House Committee on Small Business, Van Duyne isn’t yet concerned about the impact President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada might have on small businesses in Texas.
She says, in fact, look no further than the fact that several foreign leaders are already asking for meetings with the President.
“I think tariffs are a very useful tool in getting people to the table to negotiate and that’s exactly how he’s using them,” said the Republican. “But I would say small businesses right now are competing with places like businesses out of China and other places that have an unfair advantage.”
President Trump recently indicated he does plan to impose a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada beginning Feb. 1.