Last week Reps. Terri Sewell and Brad Wenstrup introduced bipartisan bill H.R. 7487, the Employee Access to Worksite Health Services Act. The bill would protect employees’ access to health care at their workplace health center by correcting a provision of the tax code that currently disincentivizes employers from offering worksite health clinics.
Worksite health clinics are offered by many large employers and state and local governments. They play a critical role in the health and well-being of employees across the nation. In 2021, more than 60 percent of large companies offered worksite health clinics.
“Workers in Alabama and across this nation rely on their employer’s worksite health clinics to access critical health care services. These clinics make our communities healthier and offer countless benefits to companies and the workers they employ,” stated Sewell. “We must ensure that our tax code rewards—not penalizes—employers for making these clinics available at the workplace. The Employee Access to Worksite Health Services Act is a commonsense bill that does just that. I’m proud to partner with Congressman Brad Wenstrup to introduce this bill and urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to give it their full support.”
Wenstrup, lead Republican sponsor, argued that the bill will correct how the tax system currently disincentivizes employers from offering worksite health clinics. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 223, employees are prohibited from contributing pre-tax dollars to a Health Savings Account (HSA) if they also receive certain supplemental health benefits at no cost or under fair market value. Employers are then forced to limit the scope of services offered to HSA enrollees or deny them access enjoyed by other employees and their family members.
Wenstrup stated, “Our communities here in Ohio and across the country rely on worksite health clinics to provide valuable resources which keep people healthier longer by providing interventions and preventative healthcare. Our tax system currently disincentivizes employers from offering worksite health clinics, and this bill corrects that. I’m happy to work with Congresswoman Terri Sewell, Congressman Mike Kelly, and Congressman Earl Blumenauer on this important legislation and I hope my colleagues will do the same; let’s keep America’s employees healthy.”
The bill will amend IRC Section 223 to clarify that accessing services provided through a worksite health clinic does not render an individual ineligible to make pretax contributions to their HSA.
