The Treasury Department has expanded the preventive care benefits that can be provided by high-deductible health plans to include a range of chronic conditions.
Taxpayers covered by a high-deductible plan can usually deduct their contributions to a health savings account as long as they have no disqualifying health coverage. To qualify as a high-deductible health plan, a plan should only provide benefits for any year after the minimum deductible for that year is satisfied. However, a high-deductible plan is not required to have a deductible for preventive care (as defined for the purposes of the HDHP/HSA rules).
The expanded list of preventive care benefits that can be provided by a high-deductible plan covers medical care services and prescription drugs for certain chronic conditions (see the list below).
Medical care that was previously recognized as preventive care for these rules is still treated as such.
The new preventive care benefits high-deductible plans can provide are:
| Preventive care | For individuals diagnosed with: |
| 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 re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) | Depression |
| Statins | Heart disease and/or diabetes |
