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June 05, 2003 at 08:00 PM
NU Online News Service, June 5, 2003, 5:49 p.m. EDT – Congress is now considering a bill that would create a break on federal income taxes for individuals who put money in health savings accounts.
H.R. 2351, the Health Savings Account Availability Act of 2003, would exclude qualified contributions to health savings accounts from taxable income.
The exclusion would apply to individuals with health plan deductibles of at least $1,000 per year. Eligible individuals and employers could make annual contributions of up to 100% of the amount of the deductible, according to a description of the bill provided by the House Ways and Means Committee.
Taxpayers also could roll up to $500 in unspent flexible spending account assets into the health savings accounts without paying taxes on the rollovers, the committee says.
Preferred provider organizations could sell the accounts, and employers could include the accounts in cafeteria plans, the committee says.
Unlike the statute that governs the Medical Savings Account pilot program, which sharply limits participation in the MSA program, H.B. 2351 would set no limits on HSA program participation, the committee says.
