health savings accounts

Health care legislation or health care reform often consists of new regulations or new restrictions on what a patient can do or how they access care. Whenever health care reform…

RALEIGH – An expansion of the state-federal Medicaid program is a prescription for more health care problems, a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight argues. Instead, consumers should manage their own…

Health care is again a top priority for most Americans. Health savings accounts offer promise and are growing in popularity among companies and individuals. Three states will soon begin consumer-directed Medicaid pilot programs. These are more realistic approaches than proposals by the NC Institute of Medicine and others to expand Medicaid or to force employers to provide health insurance. Individuals, not companies or the state, are best equipped to manage their own health care. Health care reform should start from this premise.

RALEIGH – Two years ago President George W. Bush signed legislation that made tax-free “health savings accounts” possible. With many private businesses embracing HSAs as an alternative to traditional insurance…

HSAs are a form of medical savings account, similar to the now-familiar IRAs. These accounts are the property of the employee and can accumulate interest and dividends like other savings vehicles. Funds that are not used for health care-related expenses can be used for retirement living and can also be willed to one’s heirs. When combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy, an HSA replaces traditional health insurance coverage – and does so in a way that results in a more consumer-driven approach to health care.