Originally published February 20 2005
Health savings accounts aim to save American medicine; plans encourage shopping for best health care deals, senator says.
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
One of the U.S. government's leading proponents of health savings accounts says the plans are the wave of the future, with the potential to save the American health care system. Senator Bill Frist, who was a doctor before entering politics, says health savings accounts encourage consumers to shop for the best health care deals. Accordingly, as the accounts become more prevalent, market forces will pressure doctors and hospitals to be more efficient, Frist says.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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