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Skriven 2006-04-05 23:36:36 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604056) for Wed, 2006 Apr 5
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Fact Sheet: Health Savings Accounts: Affordable and Accessible Health Care
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For Immediate Release
April 5, 2006

Fact Sheet: Health Savings Accounts: Affordable and Accessible Health Care


Today's Presidential Action

Today, President Bush Discussed His Agenda To Make Health Care More
Affordable And Accessible By Expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). The
President discussed how HSAs are giving Americans more control over their
health care costs and decisions and are helping businesses make health care
more affordable and accessible for employees.

Health Savings Accounts: The Basics

What Are HSAs? Established by the Medicare reform bill President Bush
signed into law in December 2003, HSAs allow Americans to save tax-free
dollars to pay for near-term medical expenses and save for future
longer-term costs. Accounts are accompanied by an HSA-qualified insurance
plan covering major medical expenses and preventive care. HSA-qualified
insurance plans are an alternative to traditional health insurance policies
and have lower premiums and higher deductibles. Savings from lower premiums
can be put toward funding the HSA.
  þ Who Is Eligible For HSAs? To be eligible for HSAs, individuals must be
    covered by an HSA-qualified insurance policy. Americans with government
    health benefits, for example Medicare and Medicaid, are generally
    ineligible.
  þ How Do People Sign Up For HSAs? People with HSA-qualified plans can
    open up their account with banks, credit unions, insurance companies,
    and other approved companies. Employers may also set up plans for
    employees. More information is available on the Treasury Department
    website at http://www.treas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq.shtml.
  þ What Are HSA-Qualified Insurance Policies? HSA-qualified insurance
    policies are more affordable insurance plans that protect individuals
    and families in the event of major medical illness. These plans
    generally provide the same benefits as traditional insurance policies,
    including prescription drug coverage, doctor's visits, emergency room
    visits, and hospitalization. However, they require that a higher
    deductible be met before benefits are paid. The higher deductible
    allows the insurance company to charge significantly lower premiums.
  þ How Much Can Be Contributed To An HSA Annually? For 2006, Americans can
    contribute up to $2,700 per year for individual coverage or up to
    $5,450 per year for a family. However, annual contributions cannot
    exceed the deductible of the HSA-compatible insurance policy. For
    example, if the deductible is $1,100, not more than $1,100 can be
    contributed that year. Both individuals and employers can contribute to
    HSAs. Money unspent one year rolls over into the next year. Americans
    age 55 or older (and not yet enrolled in Medicare) can make additional
    "catch-up" contributions of up to $700 per person this year, which can
    provide extra help to many early retirees.

HSAs Provide Americans With More Control Over Health Care Costs. Americans
own and control the money in their HSA. They decide how to spend the money
in their account on their own health care needs, and they keep what they do
not spend. HSAs can make health insurance more affordable and help
businesses lower health care costs.
  þ Increased Patient Control Over Health Care Spending Can Result In
    Better Value For The Patient. For example, overall health care costs
    have risen, but competition and consumer choice have lowered the cost
    of laser eye surgery (LASIK) - a procedure not covered by most
    insurance plans. The consumer marketplace led the price of this surgery
    to fall by almost half, and procedures increased 10-fold from 1998 to
    2002.

Health Savings Accounts: Expanding Health Care Coverage And Lowering Costs

More Americans Are Signing Up For HSAs. The number of Americans with HSAs
has tripled from one million in March 2005 to the more than three million
reported in January 2006. The number of Americans with HSAs is currently
projected to increase to 29 million by 2010.
  þ Low- And Moderate-Income Americans And Those Previously Uninsured Are
    Enrolling In HSAs. More than one-third of HSA purchasers last year had
    incomes under $50,000 per year, and one-third of individual HSA
    purchasers last year were previously uninsured.
  þ HSAs Are Helping Small Businesses Provide Health Insurance. The latest
    survey data indicate one-third of small businesses offering HSAs
    previously did not offer insurance to employees.

Building On This Success, The President Proposes To Expand HSAs By:
  þ Giving Individuals Who Independently Purchase HSAs The Same Tax
    Advantages As Those With Employer-Sponsored Insurance. The President
    proposes making premiums for HSA-compatible insurance policies tax-free
    when purchased directly by individuals instead of through their
    employers. An income tax credit would offset payroll taxes paid on
    premiums for HSA policies - especially helping the self-employed,
    unemployed, and workers for companies that do not offer insurance.
    Americans who are not working, especially early retirees, could pay
    premiums for the purchase of non-group HSA plans tax-free from an HSA
    account.
  þ Eliminating All Taxes On Out-Of-Pocket Spending Through HSAs. The
    President proposes allowing Americans with HSAs and their employers to
    make annual HSA contributions to cover all out-of-pocket costs tax-free
    under their HSA policy, not just the deductible as provided under
    current law.
  þ Extending The Benefits Of HSAs To Low-Income Families And Individuals
    Through Refundable Tax Credits. A family of four making $25,000 per
    year or less will be able to receive a refundable tax credit of $3,000
    from the Federal government to help purchase an HSA-compatible policy.
    These families can put up to $1,000 of that money directly into an HSA
    to cover routine medical expenses.
  þ Enabling Portable HSA Insurance Policies. Employers would have the
    ability to offer workers a portable HSA-qualified insurance policy that
    employees could keep after changing jobs. Premiums would be tax-free
    and would not increase based on employees' health status upon changing
    jobs, leaving the labor force, or moving.
  þ Allowing Employers To Make Higher Contributions To The HSAs Of
    Chronically Ill Employees. Under current law, employers must contribute
    the same amount to each employee's HSA. This prevents employers from
    providing extra help to chronically ill employees to pay for their
    higher-than-average out-of-pocket expenses. Permitting employers to
    make higher contributions will help chronically ill employees fund
    their HSAs and pay their out-of-pocket expenses tax-free through their
    accounts.

The President's Agenda To Make Health Care More Affordable And Accessible
To All Americans

Passing Association Health Plans (AHPs) To Give Small Businesses The Same
Benefits As Big Businesses And The Ability To Expand Employee Coverage.
AHPs let small businesses join together across state lines to purchase
health insurance, giving them the same advantages, administrative
efficiencies, and negotiating clout enjoyed by big companies and labor
unions. By purchasing coverage for thousands of employees at a time,
association members can pay lower premiums for better coverage. The
President has called on Congress to allow small businesses to form AHPs.

Enhancing The Medical Liability System's Fairness And Predictability While
Reducing Wasteful Costs. Frivolous lawsuits and excessive jury awards limit
access to health care by driving providers out of many communities. They
also increase costs by forcing doctors to practice defensive medicine.
Lawsuits are driving many good doctors out of practice - leaving women in
nearly 1,500 American counties without a single OB-GYN . The President
calls on Congress to pass medical liability reforms securing an injured
patient's ability to get quicker compensation for economic losses while
reducing frivolous lawsuits.

Improving Health Information Technology (IT). The Administration is working
to expand the use of health IT to lower costs, reduce medical errors, and
improve quality of care. In 2004, the President launched an initiative to
make electronic health records available to most Americans within the next
10 years.

Increasing Transparency In The Health Care System. Americans should be able
to easily obtain understandable information about the price and quality of
health care. The President urges medical providers and insurance companies
to make information about prices and quality readily available to all
Americans prior to treatment.

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