HSAs are criticized for offering tax benefits that are more generous to higher-income families. But the current HMO/PPO system also offers extremely generous tax benefits to the wealthy and not to the poor, and is rarely criticized. The fact is that lower-income families need additional assistance to afford health care — regardless of the benefit design. President Bush proposed a refundable tax credit of $3,000 per family, but got very little support from the same people who today are so critical of HSAs.
Greg Scandlen
Greg Scandlen is a policy advisor of The Heartland Institute and founder of Consumers for Health Care Choices, a non-partisan, non-profit membership organization aimed at empowering consumers in the health care system.
