Monday, February 07, 2005
Matthews, Ramthun and Scandlen featured in Business Journal article on HSAs
[Kent Hoover, "HSAs to dominate small business insurance market," San Jose Business Journal, 7 February 2005.]
Three previous Flint Hills speakers are featured in this recent article on health savings accounts appearing in business journals across the country:
Health savings accounts will become the most popular type of health insurance for small businesses in a few years, insurance experts say.
They say President Bush's proposals to expand tax breaks for HSAs would accelerate a trend already occurring as small businesses look for relief from years of double-digit premium hikes for traditional insurance.
HSAs are tax-free accounts individuals can use to pay for routine medical expenses. They must be combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy. Unused money in HSAs can be rolled over from year to year.
Employers can contribute to their employees' HSAs, and many small businesses already are replacing conventional insurance with high-deductible plans coupled with HSAs.
"We're inundated with requests on how HSAs work," says Roy Ramthun, the U.S. Department of Treasury's senior adviser for health initiatives.
Merrill Matthews, director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, says the president's proposals -- if passed by Congress -- would "really speed up the transition" to HSAs. But, he adds, "that's where the market wants to go" anyway.
Greg Scandlen, director of the Galen Institute's Center for Consumer Driven Health Care, agrees.
"I think the HSA market is going to grow phenomenally regardless," he says. "The impact will be in allowing lower-income workers who currently can't afford coverage to buy it."
Both Greg Scandlen's and Roy Ramthun's presentations are available online at: http://www.flinthills.org.
[Kent Hoover, "HSAs to dominate small business insurance market," San Jose Business Journal, 7 February 2005.]
Three previous Flint Hills speakers are featured in this recent article on health savings accounts appearing in business journals across the country:
Health savings accounts will become the most popular type of health insurance for small businesses in a few years, insurance experts say.
They say President Bush's proposals to expand tax breaks for HSAs would accelerate a trend already occurring as small businesses look for relief from years of double-digit premium hikes for traditional insurance.
HSAs are tax-free accounts individuals can use to pay for routine medical expenses. They must be combined with a high-deductible health insurance policy. Unused money in HSAs can be rolled over from year to year.
Employers can contribute to their employees' HSAs, and many small businesses already are replacing conventional insurance with high-deductible plans coupled with HSAs.
"We're inundated with requests on how HSAs work," says Roy Ramthun, the U.S. Department of Treasury's senior adviser for health initiatives.
Merrill Matthews, director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, says the president's proposals -- if passed by Congress -- would "really speed up the transition" to HSAs. But, he adds, "that's where the market wants to go" anyway.
Greg Scandlen, director of the Galen Institute's Center for Consumer Driven Health Care, agrees.
"I think the HSA market is going to grow phenomenally regardless," he says. "The impact will be in allowing lower-income workers who currently can't afford coverage to buy it."
Both Greg Scandlen's and Roy Ramthun's presentations are available online at: http://www.flinthills.org.
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