Bipartisan Paulsen bill lowers cost of donating to more effective life-saving treatment centers

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) on Jan. 25 introduced a bipartisan measure that could help ease costs for Americans who choose private umbilical cord and placental blood and tissue banking services for life-saving medical treatments.

Under the Family Cord Blood Banking Act, H.R. 4882, individuals or families could use health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) funds to cover the costs paid for private banking services that provide donated umbilical cord blood or tissue, or placental blood or tissue, according to text of the bill. Such private banking services from any accredited bank under the Public Health Service Act would be considered medical care expenses under H.R. 4882 and would become tax-deductible beginning with tax year 2018.

Health insurance plans don’t usually cover these specific private banking services, which are costlier compared to public cord and placental blood and tissue banking services, according to Paulsen’s office. Despite the cost, patients usually choose private banking, which guarantees them genetic matches with donors, in turn ensuring more successful stem cell transplants. That’s a promise that public banking services can’t make, according to the congressman’s office.

Stem cell transplants — including cord blood transplants, peripheral blood and bone marrow — can be used to treat cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, and typically are done to treat leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma.

“We cannot overlook the significant scientific and medical use this blood and tissue has, which is why we need to make it easier for families to donate it to banking services,” said Rep. Paulsen, who co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Medical Technology Caucus. “By allowing families of newborns to use their HSA or FSA dollars to donate umbilical cord blood and cells to private blood banks, we can increase accessibility to these services and better ensure their fullest medical potential is realized to improve and save lives.”

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) joined Paulsen in introducing H.R. 4882.

H.R. 4882 isn’t the first attempt to help improve access to blood and tissue banking services. Paulsen and Kind introduced similar legislation in 2015, but the proposal stalled in committee.

“When it comes to fighting cancer, blood disorders, and immune diseases, researchers say cord blood could be an effective tool for treatment,” Rep. Kind said. “This legislation supports families that choose this potentially life-saving investment by providing tax incentives to ease the burden of their medical expenses.”

Reps. Paulsen and Kind are members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, where H.R. 4882 has been referred for consideration.