New Legislation Introduced to Allow Health Plan Coverage of Dietary Supplements

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New Legislation Introduced to Allow Health Plan Coverage of Dietary

Supplements

 

http://news.excite.com/news/pr/010904/dc-dietary-sup-leglsn

 

Updated: Tue, Sep 04 10:01 AM EDT

 

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time when the majority of Americans

use dietary supplements to improve their health and well being, the U.S.

Senate is taking some new steps to ensure that vitamins, minerals, herbs,

and specialty supplements, like prescription drugs, will be covered by

health insurance plans.

 

Through the new " Dietary Supplement Tax Fairness Act of 2001 " (Bill S.1330)

introduced on August 2, 2001 by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Orrin Hatch

(R-UT), dietary supplements, medical foods and foods for special dietary

needs would be treated as medical expenses under the U.S. tax code. This

would mean that when these products are offered through a health insurance

plan, the costs would be tax deductible for employers and excluded from

taxable income for employees.

 

In introducing this legislation, Senator Tom Harkin said that giving dietary

supplements parity with prescription drugs under the U.S. tax code will

advance sound healthcare policy. " Our current policy is unfair and is

failing to take full advantage of the potential to improve health and hold

down health care costs through preventive health care practices available to

consumers, " he explained. " Bringing the code up to date to recognize and

allow for this important need for wellness and health promotion is an

important step for ward to overall sound healthcare policy. "

 

Along with giving consumers a tax deduction for using dietary supplements,

S.1330 recognizes the importance of paying for the dietary needs of people

who have been diagnosed with specific metabolic disorders and medical

conditions. Accordingly, the legislation would allow foods for dietary needs

to be considered a medical expense for the management of diabetes,

autoimmune disorders and chronic inflammatory conditions. Further, parents

would be financially covered to pay for the dietary needs of children who

have been diagnosed with metabolic disorders and autism.

 

" Many Americans are using these healthcare products to improve their health

and to stay healthy and would like to have access to these products in the

form of an insurance benefit, " Senator Harkin explained. " Insurance

companies and employers responding to this consumer demand have been

frustrated by being unable to offer a benefit like this in a manner

consistent with other health care practices which receive favorable

consideration in the Internal Revenue Code. "

 

Documenting the consumer demand for dietary supplements are the findings of

the first comprehensive national survey on the use of dietary supplements.

Called the Dietary Supplement Barometer Survey, this survey shows that the

majority of Americans believes in supplements and takes them on a regular

basis. Specifically, Harris Interactive, Inc. polled 1,027 consumers aged 18

and over, finding that six in ten American adults (59 percent of the

population) take supplements on a regular basis.

 

Of these regular supplement users, the poll finds that 46 percent take a

multiple vitamin/mineral product daily while 35 percent take single

vitamins, such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, or Vitamin B complex. At the same

time, the survey reveals that almost one in four Americans (23 percent)

regularly use herbs and specialty supplements. Currently, 15 percent of

adults now take such herbal supplements as Garlic and St. John's Wort while

8 percent regularly use such specialty supplements as SAM-e and

Glucosamine/Chondroitin.

 

The demand for dietary supplements is directly tied to the reasons why

consumers take vitamins, minerals, herbs and specialty supplements.

According to the Dietary Supplement Barometer Survey which was fielded in

July 2001, the specific reasons consumers cite for taking supplements are:

to feel better (72 percent), to help prevent getting sick (67 percent), to

help get better when they are sick (51 percent), to live longer (50

percent), to build strength and muscle (37 percent), and for weight

management (12 percent). At the same time, some Americans report taking

supplements for a specific health reason (36 percent) or for sports

nutrition (24 percent). In addition, a third of adults (33 percent) say that

they take supplements on the advice of their doctor.

 

Besides these specific reasons, the survey reveals that the majority of

Americans (56 percent) believe that some supplements offer benefits

comparable to those of drugs but with fewer side effects. Almost as many (53

percent) agree that some dietary supplements offer benefits that are not

matched by conventional drugs.

 

Because Americans associate supplements with improved health and well being,

consumers spent over $16.8 billion for vitamins, minerals, herbs and

specialty supplements in 2000, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.

Specifically, consumers spent almost $6 billion ($5.9 billion) for vitamins,

$4.12 billion for herbs and botanicals, $2.14 for meal supplements, $1.67

for specialty supplements, $1.59 for sports nutrition products, and $1.39

for minerals last year alone.

 

" Giving a tax deduction for these valuable products will go a long way

towards holding down the nation's health care costs through preventive

health care practices that are available to all consumers, " said Jerry Cott,

Ph.D., a leading neuropsychopharmacologist formerly with the National

Institute of Mental Health and now a member of the scientific advisory board

of the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau.

 

Adds David Heber, MD, Ph.D., Director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition

and another advisory board member, " Today, it is not a question of diet or

supplements but diet and supplements. Through this legislation, the public

health community will have a valuable tool that can be used to increase the

consumption of disease-fighting phytochemicals. "

 

The Dietary Supplement Information Bureau is a project of the Dietary

Supplement Education Alliance, an industry coalition created to promote

the health benefits and responsible use of vitamins, minerals, herbs and

specialty supplements. The information developed by the bureau is vetted by

a scientific advisory board comprised of: Joseph Betz, Ph.D., American

Herbals Products Association and former FDA staffer; Jeffery Blumberg,

Ph.D., Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts

University; Jerry Cott, Ph.D., Psychopharmacology Consulting Services; David

Heber, MD, Ph.D., UCLA Center for Human Nutrition; Sheldon Hendler, MD,

Ph.D. University of California at San Diego; James LaValle, R.Ph., Central

State College of Health Sciences; Barbara Levine, RD, Ph.D., The Rockefeller

University; Forouz Ertl, DVM, U.S. Pharmacopeia; and Ronald Watson, Ph.D.,

University of Arizona Medical School.

 

The DSEA steering committee includes the following organizations:

American Herbal Products Association, Corporate Alliance for Integrative

Medicine, National Nutritional Foods Association, New Hope Natural

Media/Penton Media, Inc., and Virgo Publishing Inc. Additionally, over 100

organizations and industry leaders are supporting the DSEA effort

including health food retailers such as Fruitful Yield; manufacturers such

as Natrol, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTOL) and Twinlab Corporation (NASDAQ:TWLB); and

distributors such as United Foods (NASDAQ:UNFI). Participation in the

DSEA continues to grow and fundraising efforts are ongoing.

 

For more information about dietary supplements or the " Dietary Supplement

Tax Fairness Act of 2001, " visit the Dietary Supplement Information

Bureau web site at http://www.supplementinfo.org .

 

 

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