Health Savings Account Blog

- About 3 million people are already enrolled in the new HSA plans.

- Another 3 million are in similar plans in which employers contribute to tax-favored medical spending accounts for their workers.

- A recent RAND Corp. survey found that employers reported saving at least 10 percent on health costs, and plan participants appeared to trim health spending between 2 and 15 percent.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, supported the 2003 Health Savings Account legislation that cleared a legal path for the new plans, said that he was a convert to the idea years before, in part because of Goodman's tireless advocacy campaign.

"It was a long slog, but he made it and it paid off," Grassley said. "I think it's going to be one of the big directions that health care is going to move in."

And that change in direction couldn't come at a better time, says Goodman. "We are on a health-care spending path that's unsustainable," he said. "Someone is going to have to choose between health care and other uses of money. If you want someone else to make those choices for you, you can join an HMO. But if you want to make those choices yourself, Health Savings Accounts give you the financial ability to make them."

Visit http://www.health--savings--accounts.com to learn more about Health Savings Accounts and how you can find the right plan for you.