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Ten Things You May Not Know About Health Savings Accounts

"In the beginning, HSAs received almost no industry support.... In the beginning, HSAs received almost no support from conservative think tanks.... In the beginning, HSAs received no support from academic health economists.... HSAs were originally a bipartisan idea.... One of the earliest adopters of an HSA-type plan was a labor union.... HSAs are one of the earliest examples of behavioral economics applied in the workplace.... The companies that have profited the most from HSAs have contributed almost nothing to their legislative creation, their public promotion and their political defense.... The HSA that works best with the Obamacare tax credits is a Roth HSA.... The HSA Design that economists like is the one everyone else hates.... President Obama could create 35 million more spend-it-or-save-it accounts by executive order."

Employers Could Slash Their Health Costs Overnight -- So, Why Don't They?

"The authors say the only thing that really holds down costs is giving money to the employees and letting them buy their own health care.... The most striking examples to start with are the markets for cosmetic and LASIK surgery -- two areas where third party payers have never been involved. In both fields there is price transparency and price competition. Patients never wonder what they are going to pay. A package price covers doctor, nurse, anesthetist, the facility and anything else that might be involved. There is no $100 aspirin tablet showing up as a surprise on the final bill."

Why Employers Pay Too Much for Health Care

"[As] recently as 2000, private payers were paying only 10% more than Medicare. Since then, the gap has been growing by leaps and bounds. What makes this especially surprising is that it has happened at a time when employers have been getting increasingly aggressive about controlling health care costs. So, what's going wrong? And who's to blame?"