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Released: February 04, 2009

Health savings accounts are ill-advised

Source: David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times (Free Registration)

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's decision Tuesday to withdraw as nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services was a setback for President Obama's goal of reforming the U.S. healthcare system. What could that mean for you? Three words: health savings account. As healthcare costs for employers continue to soar, and as hopes fade for quick relief from Washington, a growing number of businesses are expected to stop offering costly insurance benefits and push workers instead into tax-free health savings accounts. Proponents of the accounts, which operate like 401(k)s for medical expenses, say they give people more control over their healthcare spending. They also say people become savvier medical consumers when they're more aware of the costs of treatments and procedures.

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