I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2820 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for equity relating 
to medical costs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2013 
Mr. RIBBLE (for himself and Mr. HARRIS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for equity relating to medical costs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Health Equity Act of 
2013’’. 
SEC. 2. DEDUCTION FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS IN 
COMPUTING 
SELF-EMPLOYMENT 
TAXES 
MADE PERMANENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (l) of section 162 of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 
not apply to insurance substantially all of the 
coverage of which is of excepted benefits de-
scribed in section 9832(c). 
‘‘(B) VISION AND DENTAL BENEFITS AL-
LOWED.—Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
benefits described in section 9832(c)(2)(A). 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.— 
‘‘(1) COORDINATION
WITH
MEDICAL
DEDUC-
TION, ETC.—Any amount paid by a taxpayer for in-
surance to which subsection (a) applies shall not be 
taken into account in computing the amount allow-
able to the taxpayer as a deduction under section 
162(l) or 213(a). Any amount taken into account in 
determining the credit allowed under section 35 or 
36B shall not be taken into account for purposes of 
this section. 
‘‘(2) DEDUCTION NOT ALLOWED FOR SELF-EM-
PLOYMENT
TAX
PURPOSES.—The deduction allow-
able by reason of this section shall not be taken into 
account in determining an individual’s net earnings 
from self-employment (within the meaning of section 
1402(a)) for purposes of chapter 2.’’. 
(b) DEDUCTION
ALLOWED
IN
COMPUTING
AD-
JUSTED GROSS INCOME.—Subsection (a) of section 62 of 
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such Code is amended by inserting before the last sentence 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(22) COSTS
OF
QUALIFIED
HEALTH
INSUR-
ANCE.—The deduction allowed by section 224.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 
is amended by redesignating the item relating to section 
224 as an item relating to section 225 and inserting before 
such item the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 224. Costs of qualified health insurance.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2012. 
SEC. 4. FITNESS PROGRAMS, ATHLETIC CLUBS, FITNESS 
EQUIPMENT, AND WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS 
TREATED AS MEDICAL CARE. 
(a) TAX BENEFITS USING DEFINITION OF MEDICAL 
CARE.—Subsection (d) of section 213 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(12) FITNESS PROGRAMS, ATHLETIC CLUBS, 
FITNESS EQUIPMENT, WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An amount paid in 
connection with a membership in a fitness pro-
gram or athletic club, fitness equipment, or 
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weight loss program shall be treated as an 
amount paid for medical care. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount taken 
into account under subsection (a) by reason of 
subparagraph (A) for any taxable year shall not 
exceed $1,200.’’. 
(b) FLEXIBLE
SPENDING
ARRANGEMENTS
AND 
HEALTH
REIMBURSEMENT
ARRANGEMENTS.—Section 
106 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(g) FITNESS PROGRAMS, ATHLETIC CLUBS, FIT-
NESS EQUIPMENT, WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS.—For pur-
poses of this section and section 105— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Reimbursement for ex-
penses incurred for membership in a fitness program 
or athletic club, fitness equipment, or weight loss 
program shall be treated as a reimbursement for 
medical expenses. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount taken into ac-
count under paragraph (1) for any taxable year shall 
not exceed $1,200.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to amounts paid in taxable years 
beginning after December 31, 2012. 
Æ 
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