"Forging new revenue payloads (taxes) to prop up an already overfunded, price-bloated, bankrupt and failing healthcare system that will continue to hold the American healthcare consumer and health insurance providers hostage is the "ideology of insanity". -globalEyeNews

[The healthcare ideology wars continue in Washington. New HSA (Health Savings Account) legistlation S.2549, the Health Savings Account Affordability Act, would allow individuals to use their account funds to purchase high-deductible health insurance. This would expand current law which allows HSA account funds to pay for out-of-pocket expenses, but excludes their use for the purchase of insurance. According to DeMint, the improvement "would allow small business owners across the nation to provide tax-free contributions that could be then used by their employees to purchase health insurance that is affordable, flexible, and portable. Many workers would pay nothing but they would own everything.” DeMint also speaks out against Bill S.637, the Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act, a proposal sponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), in which small businesses could pool together as part of a government-run health care program to offer health coverage to their employees. According to DeMint, "once the government takes over the management of health care for millions of Americans, liberals in Congress will begin rationing care with one-size-fits-all mandates that limit choices." Ideology, though intriguing to intellectual appetite, is not the real issue when it comes to configuring a whole new health insurance model. Economics is. The price of healthcare in America is spiraling out of control, beyond containment. Any new model must address this primal issue by providing economic mechanisms that drive prices downward. Forging new revenue payloads (taxes) to prop up an already overfunded, price-bloated, bankrupt and failing healthcare system that will continue to hold the American healthcare consumer and health insurance providers hostage is the "ideology of insanity".]
globalEyeNews.tip.health insurance


Press Release: United States Senator - Jim DeMint:

DeMint Testifies Before Senate Finance Committee on Small Business Health Care

Calls for Legislation to Make HSAs More Affordable and to Allow Consumers to Shop for Insurance Across State Lines


April 6th, 2006 - WASHINGTON, D.C - Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) testified before the Senate Committee on Finance on ways to improve health coverage for millions of small business employees. Specifically, DeMint called on the committee to consider legislation allowing workers to use tax-free HSA contributions to help pay premiums for affordable, high-deductible health insurance. DeMint also rejected the idea of a new government-run health care program and encouraged senators to support a proposal allowing Americans to access affordable health coverage in other states.

“If we want to help millions of small business employees access affordable health insurance, we are going to have to make a small but important change to the law regulating health savings accounts,” said Senator DeMint. “Americans who want to access HSA benefits should be allowed to use their account funds to purchase high-deductible health insurance. Under current law, they can use their account funds to pay for out-of-pocket expenses, but they are banned from using them to buy insurance. This improvement would allow small business owners across the nation to provide tax-free contributions that could be then used by their employees to purchase health insurance that is affordable, flexible, and portable. Many workers would pay nothing but they would own everything.”

Besides empowering small businesses with the ability to offer a tax-free cash health care benefit without the paperwork and liability burdens associated with traditional employer-sponsored health coverage, S.2549, the Health Savings Account Affordability Act would also give individuals who purchase HSAs on their own virtually the same tax benefits as those with employer-sponsored insurance. This would help self-employed, unemployed, and workers for companies that do not currently offer insurance. Americans who are not working, especially early retirees, could pay premium for the purchase of non-group HSA plans tax-free from an HSA account.

“It’s time to level the playing field between those who get health coverage through their employer and those who do not,” said Senator DeMint. “By allowing HSA contributions to be used to pay for qualified health insurance, we can instantly help millions of Americans without employer-sponsored insurance access affordable coverage that the IRS tax code currently puts out of reach.”

Senator DeMint rejected the idea of making millions of small business employees dependent on the federal government for their health care. According to S.637, the Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act, a proposal sponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), small businesses could pool together as part of a government-run health care program to offer health coverage to their employees. The program, which is estimated to cost $73 billion over the next 10 years, would be paid for by American taxpayers through.......More>>>