Health Savings Account Blog

"Consumerdrivenguy.com will help Americans become better informed to make smarter choices about their healthcare plans and costs," said Stokes. "As a consumer myself, I found there was really no one place consumers could go to get objective, third party information on healthcare options. I created consumerdrivenguy.com to help fill that void."

Gaining momentum daily, consumer-driven healthcare is a revolutionary development that puts patients first, not providers. With Health Savings Accounts, it transforms the "one-size-fits-all" healthcare plan into a healthcare savings account and investment strategy that allows the consumer to control their own money and care.

Consumers and policy makers, alike, can now rely on the Consumer Driven Guy to provide information about existing healthcare issues and realistic suggestions that are both practical and efficient via:

- An interactive consumer education website
- An interactive weekly issues blog http://www.consumerdrivenguy.com;
- Regular consumer-oriented columns for syndicated reprint
- National seminars and regional speaking engagements

"Most people get several price quotes when they shop for a new car," Stokes said. "But when we get knee replacements, for example, we just go to the doctor who says 'this is what you need' and that's that. People have no idea how much it's going to cost, and we should."

Spiraling healthcare costs are creating unbearable economic pressures on the corporations that offer most private healthcare coverage. In 2004, employer health insurance premiums increased by 11.2 percent -- nearly four times the rate of inflation, according to the National Coalition on Health Care.

Companies are almost universally re-evaluating healthcare coverage as a way to improve their bottom line; many are turning to consumer-driven HSA plans and options.

"Consumerdrivenguy.com is designed to provide the resources to help consumers better understand the trends in healthcare, how to decipher the industry's jargon and get sound advice on how to address their specific healthcare plan," Stokes explains. "My goal for the site is to educate consumers on the right questions to ask and how to understand their choices."

At HSA for America, we applaud Mr. Stokes for his efforts to educate people on Consumer-Driven Healthcare. We are also doing our best to help people understand this new and exciting trend in the healthcare industry. For more on Health Savings Accounts and how they work, please visit our HSA Information page.