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HSA is GIA-Go It Alone
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06/26/06 07:00 AM ET
A Health Savings Account, HSA, would cut the social safety net underneath America's Middle Class. HSA is GIA- Go It Alone. Do you forgo car insurance and set aside $100 a month in case you're in an accident?
Would saving $50 a month cover your deductible for a heart transplant, or even a broken arm?
Who but the wealthiest could afford to save enough money to pay the expenses resulting from a serious medical illness or injury before a high deductible policy even kicked in? Of the 46 million Americans without health insurance today, many don't earn enough to benefit from the HSA tax holiday.
A bedrock principle of this nation is to pool resources and share risk, because it benefits us all. That's why we collectively support police, fire, national defense and other services. This would turn back the clock 100 years, when people were wiped out by one moment of misfortune.
In the end, HSAs are about reward, not health care. They are a great tax shelter for the rich. For the rest of us, HSAs are lost revenue for the government, and missed opportunity for the nation.
America's health care crisis is not going to be solved until we create a national program, covering everyone, and sharing the risks as one nation.
Would saving $50 a month cover your deductible for a heart transplant, or even a broken arm?
Who but the wealthiest could afford to save enough money to pay the expenses resulting from a serious medical illness or injury before a high deductible policy even kicked in? Of the 46 million Americans without health insurance today, many don't earn enough to benefit from the HSA tax holiday.
A bedrock principle of this nation is to pool resources and share risk, because it benefits us all. That's why we collectively support police, fire, national defense and other services. This would turn back the clock 100 years, when people were wiped out by one moment of misfortune.
In the end, HSAs are about reward, not health care. They are a great tax shelter for the rich. For the rest of us, HSAs are lost revenue for the government, and missed opportunity for the nation.
America's health care crisis is not going to be solved until we create a national program, covering everyone, and sharing the risks as one nation.
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