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Medical savings accounts (MSAs),
popular among Republicans and castigated by Democrats, were
conceived as a means of returning to individuals a sense of financial
responsibility for their own health care, and as a way to make the health care system more efficient.
MSAs as presently implemented
function similarly to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), in that
they are funded by pre-tax dollars (which become tax-deductible),
and interest accumulates tax-free. The individual who owns an
MSA buys a
high-deductible health insurance product to cover catastrophic
health needs, and then pays for "routine" health care (up
to the deductible amount) out
of the MSA. At the end of each year, the individual gets to keep any money left over in
the MSA, which continues to grow tax-free until retirement.
There are many problems with MSAs as
currently formulated, and the MSA program would have to be changed
substantially to make it suitable (and fair) for widespread
use. However, the fact that MSAs restore to individuals a
measure of responsibility for their health care expenses, a sense of
responsibility that has been entirely lacking for decades, is a
powerful reason to extend their usage (with new incentives built in
to make them suitable for everyone.) Since we must ration our heath
care whether we choose to recognize the rationing or not,
anything we can do to render a substantial proportion of that
rationing voluntary should get serious consideration.
As part of our mission to help you
understand and survive the American health care system, YourDoctorintheFamily.com
proposes
a rationing scheme that makes fundamental use of MSAs for every
citizen. See Fixing Our
Health Care System. In this scheme, MSAs are an important
tool for providing universal health care, and for limiting the
amount of overt rationing that is necessary.
Don't thank us. It's what we do.
We're your
on-line guide to understanding and
surviving the American health care system.
YourDoctorintheFamily.com
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