The conventional approach to health insurance keeps consumers in the dark about how their health care dollars are spent. Patients pay premiums every month and rely on insurers to cover their medical expenses, no matter how small or routine. Consequently, patients have little incentive to be cost-conscious. The more care they consume, the more value they capture for their premium dollar. Health Savings Accounts inject much-needed competitive forces into the health care marketplace. Expanding access to HSAs should be a centerpiece of any congressional effort to expand access to quality, affordable health care.

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