Pete Stark: “Mr. Chairman, this is an old dead horse which for some reason has been revived again. Medical savings accounts have not…”

“Mr. Chairman, this is an old dead horse which for some reason has been revived again. Medical savings accounts have not worked in the private market and did not work when they were offered to Medicare beneficiaries. They did not sell one policy under Medicare. This provision comes with a price tag of nearly $5 billion over 10 years, and all that can be said is, ``There they go again, the Republicans giving a tax cut to the very rich.'' Mr. Chairman, the American Academy of Actuaries said the greatest savings from MSAs will be for the employees who have little or no health expenditures; and the greatest losses will be for those employees with substantial health care expenditures. Those with high expenditures are primarily older employees and pregnant women. The Wall Street Journal article explaining the lack of demand for MSAs stated that consumers using MSAs must generally pay full price for medical services, while managed care plans get discounts of 30 to 60 percent. MSAs discourage preventive care, which leads to more serious health costs. MSAs do not work. Mr. Chairman, why we should be increasing the ability of very rich people to have a second IRA and deny health care or raise the cost of health care for other workers escapes me. This is an amendment, laughable at best, proposed by people who think that they can buy some more votes by pandering to the very rich by giving away more tax deductions.”