[lbo-talk] remaking health insurance

Marta Russell ap888 at lafn.org
Thu Feb 3 10:52:00 PST 2005



>BUSH READIES MAJOR ATTACK ON HEALTH CARE
>http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0131-06.htm
>
>LA TIMES - Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration
>and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to
>move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance
>t

A disability response:

issue left out on push to promote the use of health savings accounts: The current health insurance market discriminates against people with disabilities and other "pre-existing" conditions. Unless insurance companies are required to sell "catastrophic" coverage to all comers at the same rate, regardless of health status, people with significant health problems will be unable to buy the coverage required to qualify for the the HSA tax benefit. Furthermore, high out-of-pocket medical expenses can quickly wipe out an HSA. The truth is that under an HSA system, many people will forego needed care and/or wind up spending themselves into poverty, at which point they will be forced to rely on programs like Medi-Cal at taxpayer expense.

HSAs may be a great idea for healthy people with average or better incomes. But for the rest of us, HSAs are the *wrong* way to reform the health-care system.

-- Marta Russell Los Angeles, CA http://www.martarussell.com/



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