Health Insurance Daily

President Endorses HSA Expansion

President Bush's State of the Union speech hailed some old ideas to reform health care, but didn't break much new policy ground.

As in years before, the president called for expanded health savings accounts, electronic medical records and medical malpractice reform. He proposed allowing HSA-users and employers to make tax-free contributions to cover all out-of-pocket costs, not just their deductible. He wants to let employers provide higher HSA contributions for chronically ill workers than for healthier workers, and offer a portable HSA that employees would take when they leave the job.

"We must confront the rising cost of care, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, and help people afford the insurance coverage they need,” Bush said. “We will make wider use of electronic records and other health information technology to help control costs and reduce dangerous medical errors." Notably, he did not mention Medicare Part D, a domestic hallmark of his administration.

Critics feel Bush's ideas won't fix the problems causing worrisome health care inflation. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) comments, "The President’s health care plan fails to reduce health care costs, fails to increase access to quality health care for the 46 million Americans who do not have health insurance, and adds to our enormous deficit."

Article published by BenefitNews.com

posted by Mike @ 7:50 AM