Previously, preventative care only applied to services that werenot provided in response to a particular condition, such as annualphysicals. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The U.S. Department of Treasury released a notice Wednesday that could have majorimplications for high-deductible health plans by allowing plans topay for certain services even if a patient has not yet met theirdeductible.

“We are pleased and proud that the Treasury Department ispursuing valuable guidance to increase the usefulness of healthsavings accounts (HSAs),” said American Benefits Council (Council)President James A. Klein in a statement.

At issue are federal regulations that prohibit any health plansthat provide members with health savings accounts from paying fornon-preventative health care before the patient hits their annualdeductible. The regulations are aimed at encouraging individuals totake more responsibility for their health care spending and becomebetter health care consumers.

Related: Legislative changes for chronic conditions: Whatemployers need to know

However, as high-deductible plans have increased in recentyears, patient advocates and doctors have complained that highdeductible plans often lead to patients avoiding necessary care dueto cost.

The new notice increases the number of services that can becovered pre-deductible by expanding the definition of “preventativecare.” Previously, preventative care only applied to services thatwere not provided in response to a particular condition, such asannual physicals. Now, the IRS will consider treatments for certainchronic conditions to be preventative.

“(T)he Treasury Department and the IRS are aware that the costbarriers for care have resulted in some individuals who arediagnosed with certain chronic conditions failing to seek orutilize effective and necessary care that would preventexacerbation of the chronic condition,” said the notice. “Failureto address these chronic conditions has been demonstrated to leadto consequences, such as amputation, blindness, heart attacks, andstrokes that require considerably more extensive medicalintervention.”

That could include medication that is prescribed to treat achronic condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

“These conditions represent an enormous drain on the economythrough high health costs and reduced employee productivity,” saidKlein. “Modernizing HSAs to address chronic disease prevention isimportant to help tackle this problem. We remain committed toworking with the Administration and Congress to build on thisguidance and make HSAs more flexible.”

For services to be covered by an HDHP pre-deductible, says thenotice, they should be “low-cost” and demonstrate a high-impact. Inaddition, there must be strong evidence that the absence of theservice will result in the conditioning worsening or thedevelopment of another serious medical issue.

“As more and more Americans are facing high deductibles, theyare struggling to pay for their essential medical care,” said V-BIDCenter Director, Dr. Mark Fendrick. “Our research has shown thatthis policy has the potential to lower out-of-pocket costs, reducefederal health care spending, and ultimately improve the health ofmillions diagnosed with chronic medical conditions.”

Read more: 

• Coverage, prevention and research: Health care CPRfor the 21st century
• Chronic conditions: How to help pick the righthealth plan for employees
• Health plans largely neglecting members withchronic conditions