Columnist John Berry at Bloomberg News analyzes why the Health Savings Accounts being pushed by the Bush administration won't have the desired effect on healthcare costs. Using a recent Health Affairs paper as a springboard, he interviews the authors and concludes that for many, the accounts wouldn't increase cost-sharing and might actually reduce it in some cases. The flaw is the tax-deductibility of HSA money, which can mean that the consumer's total liability is less in after-tax dollars than with the usual structure of co-pays and-out of -pocket limits for standard health plans.

For the full analysis:
- check out the column [1]