Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were enacted by the federal government in 2003 to help employees with high deductible medical insurance plans.\u00a0 The advantage of a high deductible plan is that the monthly premiums are low. \u00a0The disadvantage is that if an employee has a medical expense, they must first satisfy the high deductible before they receive the insurance benefit.\u00a0 Some employees may not have the cash on hand to pay the deductible.<\/p>\n
To help alleviate that problem, HSAs offer a mechanism where employees can save money on a pre-tax basis and then that money can be used to pay their deductibles.\u00a0 Often employers will contribute to the employees\u2019 HSA account.<\/p>\n
The HSA law was written with strict guidelines based on the state of health plans in 2003.\u00a0 However, health plans have evolved since then.\u00a0 So now many health plans with high deductibles no longer meet the requirements of the strict HSA guidelines.<\/p>\n
The solution is to reform the regulations, and the good news is, a new proposed bill will do that.\u00a0 The Pandemic Healthcare Access Act sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz would allow all<\/strong> individuals who have health insurance to open an HSA, which could benefit 225 million Americans.<\/p>\n