In a Law360 article, Manatt’s Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, commented on the administration’s new requests for legislative changes to the Affordable Care Act.
The requests outline the White House’s preferences for bipartisan legislation, which is intended to restore funding for the ACA’s cost-sharing reductions that were cut in a recent executive order. According to the publication, the request for legislative authority could mean that the executive order’s regulatory actions would be on shaky legal ground. The legislative request “does suggest they’re not confident of the regulatory path,” said Ario.
One of the requests asked for the expansion of health savings accounts by allowing larger contributions and permitting HSA funds to be used for health insurance premiums, which could be a potential area of compromise.
“I think the Democrats are likely to look at health savings accounts as an area where there could be some accommodations,” Ario said. “Of the things on the [White House] list, I think that’s one that the Democrats would look at.”