Denver,
CO (PRWEB) February 11, 2005 -- In an article entitled Health Care in the
21st Century", published in the New England Journal of Medicine on January
20, 2005, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., made several suggestions
on ways to provide all Americans with lifelong, affordable access to high-quality
health care. Senator Frist graduated from Harvard Medical School in
1978, and was a surgeon before entering politics. One of the key aspects
of his vision is a system that is responsive primarily to individual consumers,
rather than to third-party payers. This concept is known as consumer-driven
health care.
Today most health care is paid for and controlled by third parties such as
the government, insurers, and employers. Consumers rarely compare prices
or quality of service when shopping for health care -- partly because this
comparison is usually very difficult or even impossible, and partly because
the price often just doesn't matter to the consumer, who is only responsible
for a moderate co-payment. Frist notes a consumer-driven system will
empower all people -- if they so choose -- to make decisions that will directly
affect the most fundamental and intimate aspects of their life -- their own
health. This empowerment gives people a greater stake in and more responsibility
for, their own health care. Health care will not improve in a sustained
and substantial way until consumers drive it."
A
key aspect to enabling consumer-driven health care was the creation of tax-free
Health
Savings Accounts (HSAs). This legislation was part of the Medicare
Modernization Act (Public Law 108-173). HSAs, coupled with affordable
high deductible insurance policies, give individual consumers more control
over their health care choices and hard earned dollars. HSAs give people
a greater stake in their own health care. The accounts can move with
employees from job to job and can be rolled over year to year. HSAs
should increase demand for greater information and transparency."
What
Senator Frist is suggesting is that people with high
deductible health insurance plans and HSAs have incentive to keep their
health costs low, since any money they save on health care expenses stays
in their Health
Savings Account, and grows tax-deferred, like an IRA. Thus there
is also incentive for the consumer to demand information about health care
pricing. No system has yet been devised in the history of mankind that
does more to increase quality and lower prices than a competitive market system.
As more and more consumers begin to own health savings accounts, health care
providers will be forced to compete for their business by providing better
quality service and better prices.
The other factor in play is the financial motivation the individual will have
to stay healthy. The vast majority of health care spending today is
due to degenerative diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic
syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and other modern ailments that are primarily
the result of lifestyle choices. The consumer who wisely spends his
HSA dollars on preventative care (which can be done tax-free) and pays attention
to diet and exercise could be rewarded with a substantial amount of money
in their Health Savings Account by age 65.
Consumer-driven health care has the potential to be a powerful force of change
in the health care system. By instituting competitive pressures, encouraging
greater price transparency, and rewarding consumers who are proactive about
their health, the growing adoption of Health Savings Accounts will help make
health care more affordable for everyone.
More
information about how HSAs work, along with instant quotes on qualifying high
deductible health insurance plans, can be found at HSA
for America, or by calling 866-254-5121.
About HSA for America:
HSA for America is a nationwide
brokerage firm specializing in individual and family health insurance plans
that are qualified to work with Health Savings Accounts. HSA
for America represents many different insurance companies,
offers instant quotes, online applications, and comparisons of HSA
administrators.
