HSAs were first devised by people who thought the problem with healthcare costs was that Americans were overinsured. This is neither hyperbole nor exaggeration, and that faulty premise makes me distrustful of any solutions based off of it.
The notion appears to be if individuals are paying out-of-pocket they'll economize and that individual consumers can negotiate better prices than collective groups. [This cartoon is one of the more cynical criticisms I've seen...]
Group insurance balances out costs among a large patient pool. In the last several years, for-profit insurance has been trying to cherry-pick their clientele, to only attract the healthiest so they can avoid paying for the people who truly need the health insurance. My gut reaction is that this kind of plan appeals most to the young and healthy, who anticipate few health expenses. [What *does* happen if something major happens and the account gets overdrawn? SOL? Or will there be a safety net? Too cruel without the safety net, and if there is an adequate safety net, why do we need the HSAs?]
Ian, if you want to do more reading on this, I've got a mess of links for you, though I haven't sifted them for quality or authority, but we've got some further reading if you're interested.
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Date: 2006-03-08 08:28 pm (UTC)The notion appears to be if individuals are paying out-of-pocket they'll economize and that individual consumers can negotiate better prices than collective groups. [This cartoon is one of the more cynical criticisms I've seen...]
Group insurance balances out costs among a large patient pool. In the last several years, for-profit insurance has been trying to cherry-pick their clientele, to only attract the healthiest so they can avoid paying for the people who truly need the health insurance. My gut reaction is that this kind of plan appeals most to the young and healthy, who anticipate few health expenses. [What *does* happen if something major happens and the account gets overdrawn? SOL? Or will there be a safety net? Too cruel without the safety net, and if there is an adequate safety net, why do we need the HSAs?]
Ian, if you want to do more reading on this, I've got a mess of links for you, though I haven't sifted them for quality or authority, but we've got some further reading if you're interested.