Health Savings Account Essay

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a topic of dispute since its introduction and continues to be discussed by politicians in the U.S. and throughout the world even after its passage. The Act has many opponents and is the cause of much controversy nationwide, primarily because it introduces higher healthcare costs for the richest citizens. Nevertheless, the ACA is an important stage in the American healthcare development process as it not only allows more people to receive healthcare services, but will also reduce the deficit. However, not everyone agrees. The policy is controversial in terms of cost vs. benefits, but the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs.

When it comes to health care, cost is one of the biggest problems. Something needs to be done in order to make it possible for patients, families, and businesses to be able to afford health care. US does not always spend health care dollars in the most productive way. The cost of cancer treatments alone can cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the only way to pay for that is to raise the cost of the insurance to the patients. Cost is defined as the “price” of healthcare. The “price” or cost can come from various places such as, the physician’s bill, the cost of prescriptions, as well as what the employers pay to cover their employees. The cost of treatments, emergency room visits, medicines, the cost of newest technology and etc. is what is making our increase in cost rapidly. The rising costs leads to becoming a financial burden to families, even the ones that have health insurance, which can typically result in individuals not receiving the health services that they need.

“The amount people pay for health insurance increased 30 percent from 2001 to 2005, while income for the same period of time only increased 3 percent.” (Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). The rising cost of healthcare is a huge problem in America today. In this paper I will analyze the different issues and causes for the increase in cost.

In 2016 the American population again saw their insurance plans increasing their premiums from 10%-13% across the board. This is much more than expected, and even worse the co-op insurance plans have failed. The government sponsored non-profit plans offering lower rates have not proven sustainability in result of the majority going bankrupt even after receiving 1.2 billion dollars of taxpayer’s money. The Affordable Care Act is already becoming a huge tax expense amongst Americans leading to the U.S. increasing the overall national debt. Starting 2018 all high end health insurance premium plans will come with a 40% excise tax. Also, changes in flexible spending accounts have occurred as over the counter medicines are no longer qualified expenses for flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. The health care tax deduction threshold account increased to 10% from the previous established 7.5%. All these changes through different avenues account for more reasons we continue to see costs increase through the ObamaCare.

Price recommends that individuals currently covered by a government provided health program should contribute to their insurance plans through health savings accounts. Proponents of this policy argue that it will hold consumers to be more responsible when seeking healthcare services. Opponents argue that while it might decrease the growth of health care costs, it will worsen health care outcomes.

On March 23rd of 2010 one of the most highly controversial bills in American history, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed into law. The Affordable Care Act attempts to reform the healthcare system by providing more Americans with affordable quality health insurance while curbing the growth in healthcare spending in the U.S. The reforms include rights and protections, taxes, tax breaks, rules for insurance companies, education, funding, spending, and the creation of committees to promote prevention, payment reforms, and more. Four years since being passed has the Affordable Care Act begun to make healthcare more affordable to Americans? When it comes to the affordability of health care In the United States, health care has always been a private for-profit industry. The main purpose of the ACA is to make insurance more affordable and expand coverage to uninsured Americans by enacting a number of provisions. This research paper will explore some of these provisions, document their details and decide whether are not they are truly helping make health care more affordable.

Healthcare costs in the United States have been rising for several years and show no sign of stopping. In 2008, the United States spent on 2.3 trillion on healthcare, more than three times the $714 billion spent in 1990, and over eight times the $253 billion spent in 19801. Although the large amount of money invested in healthcare does translate to better care for Americans, the worsening economic situation, rising costs, and federal government’s deficit have placed a great strain on the system. This includes private employer-sponsored health insurance coverage and public insurance programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a private and non-profit healthcare analysis organization, “in 2008, U.S. health care spending was about $7,681 per resident and accounted for 16.2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP); this is among the highest of all industrialized countries”1. Concerns for the enormous strain on the financial systems that fund healthcare and the desperate need to provide adequate healthcare for Americans have driven many a President since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, to seek some type of healthcare reform and universal healthcare for all Americans. President Barack Obama succeeded where many had failed and on March 23, 2010, a national health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law. On March 31, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new rules

The cost of healthcare has and will continue to rise in the United States. Some factors that contribute to those hikes are due to the consumer demanding more complex services from health care providers. Things such as new technology, equipment, research and testing procedures, along with pharmacy, and the number of uninsured are all dynamics of the increased cost in health care. The U.S. health care system relies heavily on third-party payers; these payers include commercial insurers and the Federal and state governments. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the National Health Expenditure grew 3.6% to $2.9 trillion in 2013, or $9,255 per person, and accounted for 17.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Id.

For example an x-ray machine could be leased and the organization would a fee depending on how many x-rays they take per month or year.

Recently, there have been various issues being debated in the American healthcare system. While many of these issues have been debated amongst for many years, they have recently been debated and focused on more heavily due to the change of Presidents. One of the most leading problems that is being debated right now is the cost of health insurance. Originally, the Affordable Healthcare Act was supposed to make healthcare insurance affordable and more attainable. A few years after the Affordable Healthcare Act was implemented; it became evident that it was a failure for the most part. In a vast majority of cases, it failed many Americans. The Affordable Healthcare Act in many cases has made healthcare insurance less affordable for the American

If ever you've had to pay out-of-pocket for medical, dental, vision or prescription expenses, you likely either already had some money set aside or wish you had... That's where Healthcare Flexible Spending Accounts (HCFSA), Limited-Purpose Flexible Spending Accounts (LPFSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) come in particularly handy. As a Benefits Administration Professional, I've become acquainted with the various types of accounts available to cover healthcare costs. The similarities and differences in these account structures will be covered in this essay.

I argue that advances in technology, nondiscretionary costs, and lack of competition in the medical equipment, pharmaceutical retail and insurance markets are the main reasons behind the high cost of health care. In this paper, I will use and analyze various resources like America’s Health Care Crisis: Who’s Responsible by Nancy Levitin, Health Care USA: Understanding its Organization and Delivery by Harry A. Sultz and Kristina M. Young, and Epidemic of Care by George J. Isham and George C. Halvorson to prove and support my argument, which is that advances in technology, nondiscretionary costs, and lack of competition in the medical equipment retail market, are the specific factors behind the rising cost of health care. I will also propose different strategies that will help achieve lowering the price of healthcare. Many people across the nation are unable to seek medical attention due to insufficient funds. If people do not receive health care, communicable diseases may spread more often on a large scale and life-threatening diseases may go undiagnosed leading to an increase in death rates. Making health care affordable can be achieved by making advanced technology less expensive, decreasing the amount of nondiscretionary costs, and increasing the competition in the medical equipment, pharmaceutical retail and insurance markets.

You might be wondering what a Health Savings Account is and whether or not it can be used in conjunction with Medicare. A health savings account or HSA is an account that was created for employees with a high-deductible health plan (HDHPS). The funds that are contributed to an HSA do not get taxed when put into the account or when withdrawn as long as the funds are used to pay for any qualified medical expenses that you incur. It is possible that your HSA will be overseen by your employer, but it can also be looked after by your bank, insurance company or credit union as well.

In the book Priceless Curing the Healthcare Crisis, author Dr. John C. Goodman, believes that the healthcare system is sick, and he has the cure. Dr. Goodman dissects the Affordable Care Act and urges readers to take charge of their healthcare. The neutralizing of government allows sellers and buyers to act on their judgment and incentivizes prudent spending on healthcare. In turn, the market will prevail on its accord through price negotiations which drive supply and demand. Goodman, a renowned health economist, is more commonly known as the “Father of Health Savings Account.” Priceless delves into the history of Health Savings Accounts and advocates for few restrictions on HSAs. Fewer restrictions will encourage saving money for health expenditures, compare cost, value, and quality of health services, and incentivize innovation from healthcare providers to offer quality services at lower price points. The biggest problem that Goodman uncovers is obscure prices, hence, the title Priceless.

Google’s total assets have steadily increased dating back from 2008 to 2012. Some key figures to point out in their assets are the slow growth between the second half of 2008