Opinion: A healthcare tax cut for seniors every politician should love

by Ryan Ellis, originally posted in the Washington Examiner

When it comes to any issue, especially healthcare, there is very little bipartisan commonsense cooperation in Washington these days. That’s too bad, because there are a lot of areas in healthcare where the parties substantively agree but can’t get past the “gotcha” stage. H.R. 3796, the Health Savings for Seniors Act, co-sponsored by Reps. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, and Ami Bera, a Democrat from California, is a rare exception. In a Congress in which legislating takes a back seat to posturing, H.R. 3796 deserves to become law.

The Health Savings for Seniors Act is simple in concept. It would allow any senior enrolled in Medicare to contribute to a health savings account. Under current law, seniors are prohibited from contributing to an HSA once they enroll in Medicare at age 65, even if they maintain HSA-qualified health insurance independent of Medicare.

What would this mean for seniors? Read the full piece

Ryan Ellis (@RyanLEllis) is president of the Center for a Free Economy.