Are you going to shop around different pathology labs when they snip a bit out of your colon during a colonoscopy where you are under general anesthesia? Are you going to be googling for reviews of different neurologists when you get taken to the emergency room with a bad concussion or a stroke?
I don't think so.
So how is your market-driven medical system going to work? This isn't like picking a restaurant.
An HSA is essentially attached to high deductible insurance, so major emergencies that would cost over your high deductible would be covered in full.
All of the lower cost, non-emergent services would get the benefit of you shopping around.
You’d also need to be able to select your own insurance provider directly (pretax) rather than being stuck with whoever your employer selected.
In the current situation your employer selects your provider, your medical service providers have to deal with that provider whether they want to or not. You and your medical service provider were both removed from the decision of whether your insurance company was a good choice or not.
The HSA plan puts everyone back in direct contact with their providers and allows market forces to work naturally again.
It’s the only proposal that has a prayer of fixing things.
Are you going to shop around different pathology labs when they snip a bit out of your colon during a colonoscopy where you are under general anesthesia? Are you going to be googling for reviews of different neurologists when you get taken to the emergency room with a bad concussion or a stroke?
I don't think so.
So how is your market-driven medical system going to work? This isn't like picking a restaurant.