The HSA is not really monitored in any way. Theoretically, they can be audited by the IRS, but the definition of “health related expense” is very broad. If you say the hot tub is good for your back, fine. Thing is, it’s your money in the first place. Money spent on the aromatherapist will not be available to spend on the internist when you get a MI.

If you try to buy the vitamin with FSA money, apparently the purchase is disallowed by the rules of your FSA. With a HSA, it’s allowed. It’s YOUR money to spend as you see fit.

Stark, and the other craven politicians on BOTH SIDES, want to nose themselves in to ruin a perfectly good system. HSA’s have grown rapidly with no encouragement from the government, as opposed to HMO’s that got careful nurturing by the government for decades.

If the politicians wanted to do something useful along these lines, they could help create a system to reprice the service in real time. It would eliminate delays waiting for the insurance company to reprice service to contracted levels. Assuming the physician is contracted. If they MUST look like they are Doing Something, they could create a real-time repricing system.

Heaven forbid the government actually do something useful.

I have a flexible spend account, which operates in a similar way. They are amazingly good at separating out legit expenses from not.

Certain over-the-counters are eligible. Submit a receipt with a vitamin, such as iron, and they disallow that.

I don’t see why HSA accounts, where you’d actually submit something with a code on it would be a bit different.

They are worried that HSA’s *WILL* work.

To that end, they will do as much as they can to kill them before they grow anymore.

I trust this won’t go anywhere this time ’round.

I do not have the same confidence after the 2008 elections. A President Obama or a President Clinton would gladly sign such a bill into law. Especially if Democratic majorities grow in the House and Senate.

A health care system based largely on the HSA concept already exists in Singapore and the results are pretty much exactly as any intelligent person would expect. Good health outcomes and dramatically lower cost.

All the Pete Starks of the world love to compare our system to that of Canada and various European countries, but they conveniently ignore little ole Singapore and it’s system that makes the ones in Canada and Europe look ridiculous.

Pete Stark and his cronies don’t give a darn about actually doing what’s best for the country. They only care about consolidating their own personal power, playing partisan politics, and taking care of the folks who put the most money into their pockets.

They are not leaders. The are bleeders…bleeding the country to death. Parasites.