(the) Health Savings Accounts Blog

Disclaimer: This article is not intended as a political commentary. My own political philosophy has become an apolitcal one over the years. Somehow, we manage to survive no matter who is in the White House. So long as there is enough tension in the Congress, nothing too wild and wacky is ever going to pass. So this article is merely my attempt to alert the public about what I perceive to be the benefits of one “plan” and the drawbacks of the other. That being said -

John McCain’s health care plan is right for America.

In a campaign where both candidates claim to be the agent of change, McCain wins that accolade, hands down, at least when it comes to health care. But he has done a miserable job in enunciating his plan.

I urge you to consider this editorial from the Wall Street Journal. It is written by Dr. David Gratzer, MD, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

In a nutshell, McCain’s plan aims to provide tax credits to individuals who purchase their own coverage. He also wants to allow people who live in states where premiums are high to purchase plans in other states where rates are much lower. And yes, his plan encourages high deductible health plans designed to work in conjunction with a health savings account.

At the heart of McCain’s plan is the recognition that employer-sponsored plans are growing increasingly scarce — for a variety of reasons, of course, but scarce nevertheless.

Encouraging people to buy their own plans through tax-incentives has at least 3 advantages, including:

1. Portability (employees who change jobs often lose their coverage)
2. More choice (most employees have only 1 plan to choose from at work)
3. A more mobile workforce (people would no longer feel compelled to stay at Job X for health benefits)

By contrast, Obama proposes more of the same-old, same-old, only with more regulation.

A noted economist has observed that this approach fails to address the underlying problems in the current system. In short, it would do nothing to decrease national health care spending, and in fact, would increase it.

That economist is Jason Furman, of the Brookings Institute. You may recognize the name — Mr. Furman is now economic policy director of Senator Obama’s campaign.

No plan is perfect. Ultimately, I predict that Medicare will become our version of “national health care.” We’ve already seen suggestions to lower Medicare admission age to 55. Something along those lines will eventually come to pass.

But regardless of how we get there as a nation, one thing is for certain: We are not going to be paying less for health care in the future. That being the case, individuals deserve the same tax-breaks enjoyed by corporations for decade when they purchase their own health care plans. And opening access across state lines is an idea that seems to have little, if any downside.

Thanks for reading. Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

C. Dean Richard, JD, MSBA
“the HSA king”