Missouri Republican proposes ‘super’ health savings accounts for insurance, food

Amid the current Obamacare fight roiling Congress, Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., is envisioning a new type of program that could help users buy health insurance and steaks, similar to health savings accounts (HSAs).

“This new product would basically be a super HSA on steroids tied to a cafeteria scheme linked to charitable donations,” Burlison said.

HOUSE GOP DIVIDED ON OBAMACARE FIX AS COSTS PREPARE TO RISE INTO MILLIONS

“Imagine instead of getting your insurance through your employer, you go and create your own account. We’ll call it the MAHA account, okay? And into that account, your employer would deposit the money they would normally pay to subsidize your premium,” Burlison said, referring to the Make America Healthy Again slogan used by the health-focused wing of the GOP.

Following President Donald Trump’s calls for federal dollars for health insurance assistance to be directed directly to policyholders, Burlison’s proposal would require a complete overhaul of how HSAs currently work. His proposal is also emblematic of Republicans’ efforts to eliminate existing policy restrictions that they believe limit consumer choice and flexibility when it comes to healthcare.

Under their current framework, HSAs provide users with a tax-free account that can be opened with a bank or insurance company.

“An HSA is a tax-free trust or custodial account that you establish with a qualified HSA trustee to pay or reimburse certain medical expenses you incur.” The IRS states.

Each year, the IRS publishes a list of expenses for which HSA holders can use their accounts. These can include anything from massage therapy guns to Warby Parker glasses.

The list does not currently include health insurance.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., attends the Republican Study Committee news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 21, 2024 in Washington. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

WHEN REPUBLICANS ADVANCE PHASE PLAN, BILATERAL AGREEMENT ON OBAMACARE BILLS IS DELETED

By removing this restriction, Burlison believes his new accounts can help users make more thoughtful decisions about their policies and offer users a way to find alternatives to plans offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

“From that account, you can choose any insurance product you want to buy. So, if you want to buy a government-sponsored plan, if you want to buy an ACA plan, I wouldn’t buy an ACA plan because there are much better products on the market,” Burlison said.

But in addition to healthcare, he believes restrictions on accounts should be used to encourage better health-focused decisions through the accounts’ tax-free status.

“We want to encourage people to be healthy by allowing them to purchase healthy food, protein, produce,” Burlison said.

“Imagine getting your card, going to the grocery store and knowing that the money you put on that card is pre-tax money, and now you can go buy steak or chicken or lettuce or whatever you want, as long as it’s unprocessed, healthy food. We encourage people to be healthy and eat healthy.”

Burlison noted that what he envisions goes far beyond the current structure of HSAs and will likely require the creation of an entirely new type of account.

SCHUMER REVEALS DEMOCRATS’ OBAMACARE FIX PLAN, PROBABLY DIES IN THE WATER

A worker stocks Angus sirloin fillets in the meat section of a grocery store in Washington, Oct. 25, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

“At the end of the day, this is such a new concept that I think it’s probably best to leave HSAs as they are and create this new product,” Burlison said.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Burlison’s idea for HSAs is just one of many ideas being floated by Republicans as a growing number of lawmakers want to address rising health care costs while also balancing questions about the government’s role in subsidizing those costs.