Steve Forbes touts two bills making their way through Congress that can help lower healthcare costs on cash-strapped consumers in the U.S.
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00:00 The only way to save American health care is to get patients in charge of the money,
00:04 not third parties like the government and large insurers.
00:08 Two bills making their way through Congress will help that transformation.
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00:15 Hello, I'm Steve Forbes and this is What's Ahead, where you get the insights you need
00:19 to better navigate these turbulent times.
00:22 Why do health care costs keep rising?
00:25 Because, unlike other markets, the consumer, in this case the patient, is not in charge.
00:31 Third parties are, primarily, large insurance companies and Medicare and Medicaid.
00:37 Most non-government policies come from employers.
00:40 Health savings accounts, HSAs, which have been around for 20 years, permit patients
00:46 to directly control certain funds rather than those third parties.
00:50 Money can be contributed tax-free by individuals and employers.
00:55 It grows tax-free in the HSA.
00:58 Funds can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for qualifying medical expenses.
01:03 HSAs are available only in conjunction with high-deductible health insurance plans.
01:09 Today, there are 35 million HSAs covering over 65 million people.
01:16 HSA accounts have $116 billion in assets.
01:21 The advantage of an HSA, aside from being a great savings vehicle, is that you are in
01:26 charge of how the money is spent.
01:28 Let's say you need a prescription.
01:30 You can compare prices offered by certain providers.
01:34 The savings are yours, not the employers'.
01:38 What you don't use in your HSA grows tax-free.
01:41 When you leave this world, any funds in your HSA can be passed on to your heirs.
01:47 The trouble with health savings accounts is that they are burdened with all sorts of restrictions
01:52 that limit their popularity and potency.
01:55 Two bills, the HSA Modernization Act and the bipartisan HSA Improvement Act, are making
02:02 their way through Congress that will remove some of these obstacles.
02:06 For starters, the limits on how much that can be contributed each year to an HSA will
02:11 be almost doubled.
02:13 Under current law, contributions are capped at $3,850 for individuals and $7,750 for families.
02:23 Those caps will rise to $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families.
02:31 Among other things, the bills would allow people on Medicare who are still working to
02:36 keep an HSA.
02:38 Currently, they are being barred from doing so.
02:41 Eligibility would also be expanded for veterans receiving care through the Veterans Administration,
02:47 and Native Americans would have access as well.
02:50 The bills would end the marriage penalty by permitting couples to combine their accounts.
02:55 They would allow a person to keep an HSA even if their spouse is enrolled in a flexible
03:01 spending arrangement.
03:03 They can combine these spending arrangements into a health savings account.
03:07 There are other improvements.
03:09 These bills are very helpful, but much more needs to be done to really put the patient
03:14 in the driver's seat in the health care market.
03:17 HSAs should be available to everybody, regardless of their other insurance arrangements.
03:23 The contribution caps should be substantially expanded.
03:27 People should be able to use HSAs to pay premiums for their own health insurance policy if they
03:32 so desire.
03:34 Any remaining restrictions on where and how people get medical services should go by the
03:39 boards.
03:40 I'm Steve Forbes.
03:42 Thanks for listening.
03:43 Do send in your comments and suggestions.
03:45 I look forward to being with you soon again.
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