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</p>President Obama promised Americans that If you like the plan you have now, you can keep it.* It was a fundamental promise of Obamacare.
But if the coverage you like comes via a Health Savings Account (HSA) or a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), that promise may not hold.
A recent <ahref="http://hsaconsultingservices.com/">analysis from HSA Consulting Services concludes the new law will probably lead to major changes in how consumers can use such plans.* And many of those changes may make the accounts far less appealing.* It all depends of how the Department of Health and Human Services writes the regs, says study author Roy Ramthun.<spanid="more-30285"></span>
The Obamacare law limits these consumer-controlled accounts in two ways:* it restricts the types of health products you can purchase with your HSA money, and it reduces the amount of money youll be able to put into your FSA.
Unsurprisingly, theres a price hike, too.* It doublesto a whopping 20 percentthe tax penalty for withdrawing HSA funds to cover non-medical expenses.
But the worst news for those using HSAs is the provision requiring all policies to cover at least 60 percent of the actuarial value of the benefits offered.* Whats the actual value?* No one really knowsnot until the Health and Human Services Department issues regulations on how to calculate it.
Will contributions to HSAs be included in these actuarial-value calculations?* HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will make that call.* And if she rules no, then high-deductible health plans including HSAs will no longer be viable and you can kiss your plan good-bye.
A major problem with our health system is that consumers typically have little say in how their health care dollars are spent.* HSAs and FSAs help vest that decision-making power in the hands of consumers, rather than in HSS bureaucrats.
To learn more about the benefits of consumer-driven, patient-centered health reform, <ahref="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2006/10/Building-on-the-Successes-of-Health-Savings-Accounts">click here.