More Preventive Care Items Added to List of Items Allowed to Be Paid from High Deductible Health Plan

In Notice 2019-45[1] the IRS expanded the list of preventive care items that can be paid for under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) for taxpayers with health savings accounts.

Under IRC §223, for a taxpayer to be eligible to contribute to a health savings account, the taxpayer must be covered by a qualified HDHP program and have no disqualifying coverage.  Aside from payments for certain preventive care, an HDHP cannot provide reimbursement to the taxpayer until the taxpayer has paid for care equal to the deductible.

In this notice the IRS added the following items to the list of allowable preventive care:

Preventive Care for Specified Conditions For Individuals Diagnosed with
Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitors Congestive heart failure, diabetes, and/or coronary artery disease
Anti-resorptive therapy Osteoporosis and/or osteopenia
Beta-blockers Congestive heart failure and/or coronary artery disease
Blood pressure monitor Hypertension
Inhaled corticosteroids Asthma
Insulin and other glucose lowering agents Diabetes
Retinopathy screening Diabetes
Peak flow meter Asthma
Glucometer Diabetes
Hemoglobin A1c testing Diabetes
International Normalized Ratio (INR) testing Liver disease and/or bleeding disorders
Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) testing Heart disease
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) Depression
Statins Heart disease and/or diabetes