Reply #18: Do you realize health savings accounts are the GOP agenda for healthcare?

[antigop]

http://www.house.gov/tierney/press/health051304.shtml

The third piece of the GOP agenda for the week, Health Savings Accounts, is part of the highly flawed new Medicare law.

“Republicans claim they are trying to help small business owners achieve affordable health care for employees with association health plans (AHPs), when really their bill would increase, not lower costs. Currently, small businesses can already join state-regulated AHPs that provide important consumer protections, however, the Republican AHP bill would remove these protections and be harmful to consumers,” said Tierney.

“The GOP claims their medical malpractice legislation would bring the cost of health care down by lowering doctors’ premiums, which would reduce health care costs for consumers. That is simply a false statement,” said Tierney. “If this bill were to be made law, premiums would not go down, because the first time this legislation was brought to the floor, insurance companies did not allow the bill to be amended with a requirement that they would drop their premiums if awards were capped at a certain level. If this bill was about lowering premiums, it would make insurance companies comply with anti-trust laws, from which they are currently exempt, and have enforceable provisions so that premiums would go down substantially if damage awards were capped.”

“Several non-partisan studies have shown that the third piece of the GOP Agenda, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), will increase the cost of health care for all those who do not participate in this type of program,” said Tierney. “Health Savings Accounts create an enormous incentive for employers to drop comprehensive health insurance plans and instead offer polices that carry very high deductibles and co-payments. These Health Savings Accounts are designed to be tax shelters for the wealthy, not insurance coverage for the uninsured.”

From the GOP 2008 platform:
http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/HealthCare.htm

Republicans believe all Americans should be able to obtain an affordable health care plan, including a health savings account, which meets their needs and the needs of their families.

If it's part of the GOP platform, do you really think it's a good thing?