Obamacare Eliminates HSAs

A recent article on CNN Money highlighted “5 freedoms you’d lose in health care reform.” Among the five freedoms, one highlighted the threat of Obamacare to HSAs for millions of American workers:

“The bills threaten to eliminate the one part of the market truly driven by consumers spending their own money. That's what makes a market, and health care needs more of it, not less.

Hundreds of companies now offer Health Savings Accounts to about 5 million employees. Those workers deposit tax-free money in the accounts and get a matching contribution from their employer. They can use the funds to buy a high-deductible plan -- say for major medical costs over $12,000. Preventive care is reimbursed, but patients pay all other routine doctor visits and tests with their own money from the HSA account. As a result, HSA users are far more cost-conscious than customers who are reimbursed for the majority of their care.

The bills seriously endanger the trend toward consumer-driven care in general. By requiring minimum packages, they would prevent patients from choosing stripped-down plans that cover only major medical expenses. ‘The government could set extremely low deductibles that would eliminate HSAs,’ says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a free-market research group. ‘And they could do it after the bills are passed.’”

Positive health care reform would promote HSAs rather than eliminate them. Senator DeMint’s Health Care Freedom Act would have helped to expand health care choices and encouraged long-term savings.

Comments (1)

Post Your Comment

Add a Comment

Name
Organization

Location
Email

Enter the Characters You See to the Left
Subscribe to our newsletter.