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March 20, 2006
Health Savings Accounts already helping the Uninsured
Until recently, much of the data available on Health Savings Accounts has come from individual carriers, conservative think tanks and trade associations. Health Savings Account skeptics have doubted their figures - which show 33 to 40 percent of those purchasing Health Savings Accounts were previously uninsured.
The first academic research on Health Savings Accounts, published in the November/December issue of Health Affairs, reviews the relative merits and potential of various proposals to expand Health Savings Account affordability for the uninsured.
The team performed sophisticated forecasting simulations of the extent to which several different policy proposals - including Bush's health care tax credit for HSAs - would:
- Reduce the number of uninsured.
- Reach the low-income uninsured.
- Cause people receiving employer-subsidized group coverage to drop it and move to the individual market (presumably for a better deal).
Overall, the authors concluded that "widespread national adoption of individual HSA plans is possible" and early indications are that HSAs are a viable alternative to existing types of health plans.
"The academic community finally is coming around to see that Health Savings Accounts, in conjunction with refundable tax credits, could dramatically reduce the number of uninsured," said Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute. "It will be very hard for opponents of Health Savings Accounts to ignore this study in the top health policy journal. This is an important breakthrough."
At HSA for America, close to 50% of the HSA plans we sell are being purchased by people who were previously uninsured. Health Savings Accounts are a viable alternative for uninsured individuals and families who until now have been unable to afford health insurance.
You can find extensive information on HSAs at http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at March 20, 2006 11:55 AM