Health Insurance Daily

Health Savings Accounts Aren't Immune to Risk

Despite a good deal of pre-State of the Union huffing and puffing, the Bush administration apparently plans to seek fairly modest changes in the law covering health savings accounts (HSAs) and other "consumer-driven" types of medical insurance.

Even without the better tax breaks Bush is talking about, though, the popularity of these plans is growing -- at least with employers. Two of the reasons are that, so far, surveys indicate that HSAs are cheaper for companies than traditional insurance and that employers' costs for these plans are rising less rapidly.

That, of course, is what backers of these plans have long said would happen. Set up as a combination of a high-deductible insurance policy to cover serious illnesses and a tax-preferred savings/investment account for routine expenses, HSAs are supposed to curb health care costs by discouraging unnecessary use of medical services while encouraging careful shopping for those that are necessary.

To read this article in its entirety, click on Health Savings Accounts.

posted by Mike @ 3:05 PM