For example, if an employer pays $100 to a health care plan for a low deductible plan and a set of services and goods that the subscriber never uses, the health care insurance providers pockets the savings.
Here is an alternative model assuming that the cost of an HSA qualified plan was $50.
1. Employer pays $50 to the health insurance plan.
2. Employer pays $50 to the employee via an HSA direct deposit.
3. The employee maintains excellent health through diet, exercise, and healthy living.
4. The employee keeps or earns the savings.
With this approach, the employee keeps the cash not used to mitigate issues related to unhealthy living.
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ReplyDeleteHSA is the vehicle to a more rationale approach to universal coverage , it links personal responsibility of health to financial benefit. It just needs more configurability and promotion .
ReplyDeleteThis is from the Government:
ReplyDeleteDRAMATIC GROWTH OF HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS (HSAS)
THEN (2004)…
• 438,000 -- Individuals were covered in November 2004 by HSA-type insurance
plans -- according to the America Health Insurance Providers (AHIP).
• 113,000 (roughly 240,000 individuals) -- IRS data on individual tax returns
reporting HSA deductions in tax year 20041.
NOW…
• 3.2 million -- Seven fold increase to individuals covered by HSA type insurance
plans (November 2004 to December 2005) -- according to AHIP.
o 31% -- Previously uninsured individuals buying health insurance on their
own.
o 33% -- Small businesses not previously offering coverage.
o Nearly 50% -- Age 40 or over.
• $1 billion -- Dollars invested in HSAs by Americans, according to data gathered
by Inside Consumer-Directed Care (ICDC) newsletter Feb. 24 issue -- based on
financial data provided by more than 60 financial firms including JPMorgan
Chase, Wells Fargo and The Principal Financial Group.
• 42% -- Number of Individuals or families with incomes below $50,000 buying
HSA type insurance on their own, according to “Health Savings Accounts: The
First Six Months of 2005” report by eHealthInsurance.
THE FUTURE…
• 14 million by 2010 -- Treasury Department projection of HSA policies
(covering 25 to 30 million people) -- based on current law.
• 21 million by 2010 -- Treasury Department HSA policies estimates rise by 50
percent (covering 40 to 45 million people) -- based on the President’s health care
initiative.
HSA's will be part of the health care solution for American's. Based on these numbers why such a low adoption rate. Pure and simple confusion. I had to read my options during the election window this year over and over before I felt I was making the right choice.
The points you made in your Gap analysis are right on. Two points to add. HSA's need to be advocated by both independant groups as well as employers as to the benefits to each employee. Eduacation and more importantly tools have to be made available to these employees so they can feel confident that they are being good stewards of their money and not making a bad health care choice for their families.