WASHINGTON — Sellers of health savings accounts see an opening for expanding their market, and they’re ramping up lobbying efforts to seize the opportunity.
A group of companies and organizations tied to the HSA industry this year formed a nonprofit called the Great American Health Alliance, or GAHA, a riff on Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA. As a 501(c)(4), GAHA can engage in unlimited lobbying, support political candidates, and avoid disclosing where it gets its money.
Members of GAHA include HealthEquity, one of the largest administrators of HSAs, and the American Bankers Association, which represents institutions holding about 90% of HSAs. GAHA is run by brothers Keith Nahigian, who is the group’s president and has worked for multiple GOP presidential campaigns, and Ken Nahigian, who led the Trump transition in 2017 and was health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s liaison to senators during his confirmation process.
