The combination of high-deductible insurance with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) is central to a market-driven reform of U.S. health care. There is, however, a problem with existing HSA policy that must be fixed if HSAs are to reach their full potential in improving the efficiency of health care arrangements: As currently structured, HSAs are not built to provide easy access to care from well-organized systems of health care. Rather, HSA enrollees buy services on a fee-for-service basis, which is, in most cases, a much less efficient way of getting needed care. The rules governing HSAs should be modified to allow account holders to buy access to care from integrated care systems on a fixed-fee basis.
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