June 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 29

estimates this figure will rise to
20 percent by 2022. Spending $1
out of every $5 our economy generates on healthcare is not a sustainable model. Americans cannot
medicate themselves to health. It
requires a lifestyle change. Proper
diet and exercise are the keys to a
healthy life; yet, we have let physical activity slip so far down on our
society's priority list that activity funding has been cut at a time
when we need it most. The bottom
line is that Americans need help
with the cost of active lifestyles.

A Win-Win Scenario
The PHIT Act gives consumers a
discount on the cost of active lifestyles, while the activity provider receives full price. A win-win scenario
for both consumers and providers,
such as park and recreation agencies.
There are currently more than 30
million households with pre-tax medical accounts (such as Health Savings
Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending
Accounts (FSAs), etc.), and conservatively, each account serves three family members.* When PHIT becomes
law, 90 million Americans will have
access to pre-tax funds for physical
activity expenses and will be able to
receive a 25-40 percent discount on
active lifestyle costs. In short, PHIT
will move people off the couch and
into recreation centers and parks,
and onto courts, ball fields, trails, rivers and lakes.
The PHIT Act is extremely
popular in Congress, with more
than 125 bipartisan cosponsors
in the House (70D-60R) and 16
(9R-6D-1I) in the Senate. PHIT
is a tax bill, as it would modify
the tax code, and half of the members on the top congressional tax
committee, the House Ways and

Means Committee, support the
PHIT Act (11 R-9 D). It has more
ore
cosponsors than any other healthlthcare-related tax bill and support
ort
continues to grow.

Improving Healthcare
in America
So why hasn't PHIT passed already? Short answer is " politics. "
It was a new concept when it was
first introduced, and it was not part
of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The implementation of the ACA
led to the contentious battle to repeal " Obamacare, " which provided no opportunity for a bipartisan
effort to improve the system. The
" repeal & replace " effort ultimately
failed, but there are still some who
continue to fight the battle (even
though Republicans only have a
51:49 majority in the Senate). This
slimmest of majorities makes it virtually impossible to pass a repeal
bill: Senate rules require 60 votes to
end debate and vote on legislation.
With the repeal & replace effort
all but dead, Congress has begun
to explore ways to improve the
current healthcare model, without
gutting it completely. Any revisions
to healthcare will require the support of Democrats in the Senate
to reach the 60-vote mark needed to bring bills up for an official
vote. A powerful group of national
organizations, including the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, The Business Roundtable, America's Health
Insurance Plans and the American
Benefits Council are promoting a
package of bipartisan changes to
HSAs, including PHIT, to improve
healthcare in America. The effort
paid off as Congressmen Mike
Kelly (R-Pa.) and Earl Blumenauer
(D-Ore.) introduced the Bipartisan

*Because of implementation of
the Affordable Care Act (ACA),
enrollment in HSAs has significantly increased over
the past few years, and the median household
income for a family enrolled in an HSA is $57,000 per
year. While this legislation will not benefit families
with incomes below that threshold or families that
do not have access to an HSA, NRPA is committed
to ensuring that the financial barriers to physical
activity are eliminated for low-income children and
families. NRPA will continue to advocate for PHIT
and PHIT-like opportunities for all. Questions? Email
NRPA's senior government affairs manager, Kate
Clabaugh (kclabaugh@npra.org).

HSA Improvement Act of 2018 on
March 1, to make these pre-tax accounts more consumer friendly.
Congress has come around on
understanding that physical activity
is a crucial component of a healthy
lifestyle and the central role it plays
in preventing chronic conditions.
Most importantly, wellness and
prevention are a primary focus of
Congress as it seeks to improve our
current healthcare model. Diet and
exercise are the foundations of a
more sustainable healthcare system,
and we must do all we can to promote activity to create a healthier
culture in America.
To reach out to your members of
Congress and ask them to #passPHIT, visit https://www.nrpa.
org/our-work/advocacy/advoca
cy-engage/.
Bill Sells is Senior Vice President for Government and
Public Affairs for the Sports & Fitness Industry
Association (bsells@sfia.org).

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Parks & Recreation

June 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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