WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema introduced the bipartisan Lower Health Insurance Deductibles Act with Republican Senator Rick Scott (Fla.) to lower the cost of health care for Arizona families by allowing High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) to split deductibles between drug and medical benefits.
“Arizonans need more flexibility with their insurance plans to lower out-of-pocket costs. I’m ensuring Arizonans who depend on expensive medicines like insulin can choose insurance with lower drug deductibles so their plans works better for them,” said Sinema.
Currently, health savings account eligible high deductible health plans must have a minimum deductible of $1,400. However, most Arizonans won’t reach this deductible if they seek limited medical services a year, and are then stuck paying out-of-pocket for their prescriptions. Under Sinema’s Lower Health Insurance Deductibles Act, the high deductible health plan could split the total deductible between medical services and drug benefits, giving Arizonans more flexibility to meet their drug deductible and then get their medications at a lower cost.
Sinema is working to make health care more affordable for all Arizonans. Following six years of advocacy, in December Sinema secured the repeal of the costly and unnecessary Health Insurance Tax, Medical Device Tax, and Cadillac Tax. The repeal of these harmful taxes will help address rising health care costs for Arizona families and businesses and encourage investment in Arizona jobs.
Sinema also recently cosponsored the bipartisan Chronic Disease Management Act, which makes health care more affordable and accessible for Arizonans by allowing patients with chronic conditions who have high-deductible health plans to utilize their insurance benefits sooner, rather than wait until they reach their deductible.
