Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson (IL-15) joined his colleagues in Congress this week in passing two separate measures that will allow Americans more flexibility in affording health care and better access to group health insurance plans.  The House of Representatives approved H.R. 4281, a bill that creates Association Health Plans (AHP’s), which will allow small businesses to pool with other employers in order to offer employees group health insurance.  Additionally, House passage of H.R. 4279 will make it easier for millions more American workers to participate in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA’s) which allow them to pre-pay for unforeseen health care expenses.

“More than 41 million Americans currently have no health insurance,” stated Johnson.  “Many of these Americans - 60 percent or more, by some estimates - work for or depend on small employers who lack the ability to provide health benefits for their workers.  The creation of AHP’s will change this, opening the doors of health care access to millions of uninsured families and allowing quality health coverage for millions of Americans who currently have no health coverage at all.”

Rep. Johnson also discussed the importance of simplifying the existing Flexible Spending Account system.  Currently, employees with FSA’s must estimate the cost of their family’s health care, and pay that tax-free in advance.  Funds leftover at the end of the year are then forfeited.  H.R. 4279 will allow up to $500 of unused funds at the end of a year to be applied to the next year, essentially easing the burden of the “use-it-or-lose-it” system.

“Giving hard-working Americans who participate in FSA’s the ability to rollover funds to the next year will encourage more people to utilize the program,” said Rep. Johnson.  "Allowing people to better manage their money and in turn become better consumers of health care, will alleviate overuse of the system and give individuals more control over their health care decisions."

Both measures cleared the House of Representatives this week and move to the Senate for further consideration.  Over the course of this week, the American health care industry has been celebrating “Covering the Uninsured Week.”

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