The First Casualty Of Healthcare Reform And HSAs

One of the first casualties of healthcare reform is a small Virginia insurance company dedicated to providing Health Savings Account insurance.
The uncertainties raised by the massive and often unclear bill are raising concerns throughout the healthcare industry.
A recent sit-down between Health And Human Services Secretary Sebelius and healthcare insurance executives did little to ease this uncertainty.
What is necessary over the next few months is a gradual identification and clarification of key elements of the bill that will enable the industry to begin planning for the future.
At the same time, our company, Information Strategies, Inc., recent survey of healthcare insurance purchasers found a significant number of individuals frightened and unnerved by the prospect of change.
Of course, change always brings uncertainty but the lack of information and clarification is driving a heightened sense of insecurity.
For HSAs, which are on track to reach 15 million by January 31, 2011, the “clarifications” pose a risk.
Our experience with the Obama administration clearly shows a marked antipathy towards HSAs. How the rules come down will greatly affect HSAs and the coming congressional elections will profoundly affect their future.
We always point to this startling statistic when measuring HSAs against other health insurance offerings. Whereas four out of five HSA users would recommend them to family and friends, only 56% of users of other traditional plans (PPOs, HMOs) would recommend them.
With key battle ground states like Ohio, Texas, Indiana, California and Florida having strong commitments to HSAs, perhaps there is hope that they will survive relatively unscathed.