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- Title
Medical savings accounts: assessing their impact on efficiency, equity and financial protection in health care.
- Authors
Wouters, Olivier J.; Cylus, Jonathan; Yang, Wei; Thomson, Sarah; McKee, Martin
- Abstract
Medical savings accounts (MSAs) allow enrolees to withdraw money from earmarked funds to pay for health care. The accounts are usually accompanied by out-of-pocket payments and a high-deductible insurance plan. This article reviews the association of MSAs with efficiency, equity, and financial protection. We draw on evidence from four countries where MSAs play a significant role in the financing of health care: China, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States of America. The available evidence suggests that MSA schemes have generally been inefficient and inequitable and have not provided adequate financial protection. The impact of these schemes on long-term health-care costs is unclear. Policymakers and others proposing the expansion of MSAs should make explicit what they seek to achieve given the shortcomings of the accounts.
- Subjects
CHINA; SINGAPORE; SOUTH Africa; UNITED States; HEALTH insurance &; economics; HEALTH policy; INSURANCE statistics; MEDICAL care cost statistics; COMPARATIVE studies; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; RESEARCH; MEDICAL savings accounts; EVALUATION research; ECONOMICS
- Publication
Health Economics, Policy & Law, 2016, Vol 11, Issue 3, p321
- ISSN
1744-1331
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1017/S1744133116000025