Reps. Curtis, Gottheimer move to expand access to supplements

Josh Long, Associate editorial director, SupplySide Supplement Journal

September 14, 2021

2 Min Read
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Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would expand access to dietary supplements for health care needs.

The bill would permit expenditures from health savings accounts as well as flexible spending and health reimbursement arrangements for dietary supplements.

H.R. 5214 was introduced Sept. 10 by Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Spokespeople for the congressmen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Scott Melville, president and CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), praised Curtis and Gottheimer for their bipartisan legislation. 

"Millions of consumers already utilize FSAs and HSAs to save money on their healthcare expenses," Melville said in a statement. "As consumers are increasingly turning to affordable self-care options that support their overall health and wellness, expanding FSA/HSA eligibility to include dietary supplements is a smart way to provide additional savings.”

A similar bill, S. 1654, was introduced in May in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). That bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance but has no co-sponsors to date. Cramer introduced the legislation in the previous Congress as well.

“Nutritional supplements help lower health care costs and keep Americans healthy,” Cramer said in a May 28 news release. “By modernizing the rules for savings and spending accounts, my bill would save taxpayer funds, increase consumer choice, and encourage people to invest in their health and wellness.”

Both bills in the House and Senate would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Dan Fabricant, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Natural Products Association (NPA), is a proponent of the bills in the House and Senate.

“Expanding access to supplements benefits everyone,” Fabricant proclaimed in a press release Monday. He urged his members to contact their elected officials in the nation’s capital “and let them know how important expanding access to dietary supplements is to the health of their constituents.”

According to NPA, nutritional supplements help to support people in the U.S. and abroad, especially those from areas without sufficient access to nutritious foods.

“We would also like to thank Reps. Curtis and Gottheimer and their staffs for their support and wanting to expand choices for hundreds of millions of Americans who use supplements to stay healthy in this challenging time,” Fabricant added.

The House bill also garnered the support of Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). 

“We believe in incentivizing healthy behaviors and empowering consumer choice,” Mister said in a news release. “Dietary supplements are cost-effective measures to manage and improve health and wellness that can save taxpayers hundreds of millions—and in some cases billions—of dollars in healthcare costs.”

 

 

About the Author

Josh Long

Associate editorial director, SupplySide Supplement Journal , Informa Markets Health and Nutrition

Josh Long directs the online news, feature and op-ed coverage at SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly known as Natural Products Insider), which targets the health and wellness industry. He has been reporting on developments in the dietary supplement industry for over a decade, with a focus on regulatory issues, including at the Food and Drug Administration.

He has moderated and/or presented at industry trade shows, including SupplySide East, SupplySide West, Natural Products Expo West, NBJ Summit and the annual Dietary Supplement Regulatory Summit.

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn and ping him with story ideas at [email protected]

Education and previous experience

Josh majored in journalism and graduated from Arizona State University the same year "Jake the Snake" Plummer led the Sun Devils to the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also holds a J.D. from the University of Wyoming College of Law, was admitted in 2008 to practice law in the state of Colorado and spent a year clerking for a state district court judge.

Over more than a quarter century, he’s written on various topics for newspapers and business-to-business publications – from the Yavapai in Arizona and a controversial plan for a nuclear-waste incinerator in Idaho to nuanced issues, including FDA enforcement of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).

Since the late 1990s, his articles have been published in a variety of media, including but not limited to, the Cape Cod Times (in Massachusetts), Sedona Red Rock News (in Arizona), Denver Post (in Colorado), Casper Star-Tribune (in Wyoming), now-defunct Jackson Hole Guide (in Wyoming), Colorado Lawyer (published by the Colorado Bar Association) and Nutrition Business Journal.

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