Saving the Health Care Commons, One Deductible at a Time

The media has underreported the fact that the recently enacted healthcare law has seriously weakened what is potentially the most effective method of both reducing the cost of healthcare and encouraging those without insurance to become insured—the health savings account (HSA) and similar iterations such as the flexible savings account.

By reducing the tax deductible cap on HSAs from $6150 per year by $3650 per year, the government seems poised to dismantle them; this is a mistake, because HSAs incentivize people to conserve their health care dollars. Read more...

Polls have shown that while 70% of the public favored the concept of health care reform, 60% opposed the bill that was enacted. The opposition was multi-faceted. States objected to the costs that would be forced upon them. Many seniors concluded that the elimination of Medicare Advantage would transfer costs from the government to seniors rather than actually reduce the cost of care. They also worried that the scheduled cuts to basic Medicare would result in a reduction in their quality of care. Many economists opposed the bill because they expected it to result in a deficit instead of the 140 billion surplus that had been predicted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the basis of the assumptions provided by the Congress. Read more...