WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- In a renewed pitch for consumer-driven healthcare, U.S. President George Bush said Monday health savings accounts are a good option for small firms.
"If you're a small business owner and you're worried about providing good healthcare for your employees, you ought to look into a health savings account as a way to provide that benefit to your employees," the president said following a meeting in Washington with small business owners who offer HSAs to their workers.
"People have come to realize the benefits of health savings accounts, such as, health savings accounts are affordable for individuals and small businesses."
He noted HSAs are tax-free and can follow workers from job to job.
"By making rational decisions about your life, you'll end up with more money in your health savings account, on a tax-free basis," Bush said.
He said 4.5 million people in the United States now have HSAs, which he said is a 43 percent jump from last year.
Critics of HSAs claim low-wage workers cannot afford to put aside earnings into the accounts for basic healthcare and that conventional health plans are a better fit for such workers.
