Healthcare Financial News

Health savings accounts (HSAs) are a short-sighted remedy that fails to address the real obstacles to health care for Americans, especially lower-income women, said Judy Waxman, JD, vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). She testified May 14 at the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health hearing on HSAs.

Although proponents of HSAs state that they encourage saving for future healthcare expenses and allow consumers more control over healthcare choices, the NWLC maintains that HSAs are the wrong solution for uninsured women and families. Key reasons include the fact that high-deductible health plans require greater out-of-pocket spending, which will have the most impact on women. And because women are disproportionately represented among America’s low-income population, they are also less likely to benefit from any possible tax breaks or savings through HSAs, said Waxman. Read her testimony.

A coalition of chief executives from several healthcare companies and organizations has announced an industrywide healthcare reform proposal intended to improve accessibility and quality of care. The health proposal, titled Closing the Gap: A Proposal to Develop Affordable, Quality Health Care to All Americans, was unveiled May 13 at a Chicago press briefing by the Healthcare Leadership Council.

The proposal calls for a number of approaches, including:
• Fully funding public coverage programs, while allowing dollars from the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program to be used to fund subsidies to help workers unable to afford their share of employer-provided health coverage
• Eliminating tax-treatment disparities felt by people who purchase individual health insurance
• Restructuring healthcare payment systems to encourage and reward positive outcomes
• Speeding up the movement toward a nationwide health information network

Health industry leaders have scheduled meetings to discuss the proposal with leaders of key U.S. Senate and House committees, and plan to present it to the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. Read the proposal.