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December 06, 2006
Universal Healthcare vs Health Savings Accounts
Newly elected Democrats and America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the industry's trade association, have put universal health care at the top of their legislative agenda, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD). Hopefully they will both reconsider Health Savings Accounts as an alternative to universal health care.
While Democrats have not developed a comprehensive universal health care plan, AHIP has outlined its formal strategy:
- The group wants the federal government to spend $300 billion over 10 years on the plan, which would expand federal-state programs -- including Medicaid -- to insure below-poverty-line children and adults.
- The organization also wants individuals to buy coverage through universal health accounts paid for with pretax dollars, with federal matching funds for working families.
But John C. Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis has his doubts:
"There is no way to make health insurance really universal in the United States. To do that would mean everybody is in the same system, and you couldn't do that unless you make it free. A free system would mean runaway costs and reduction in quality," he explains.
Goodman's solution: Personal and portable insurance, similar to health savings accounts, which are engineered like the 401(k) retirement savings program, and allow individuals to buy their insurance with tax-free dollars and take it from job to job, city to city and state to state.
Health Savings Accounts are a much better solution than a universal healthcare system. Hopefully our lawmakers will see the advantages Health Savings Accounts bring to healthcare and increase the incentives for individuals and families to get an HSA.
Learn more about Health Savings Accounts at: http://www.health--savings--accounts.com
Posted by Wiley Long at December 6, 2006 09:04 AM