–President Deducts $3700 for Contribution to Health Savings Account–
WASHINGTON — Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist today praised President Bush for contributing $3700 in 2005 to health savings accounts for himself and Mrs. Bush. The contribution is shown on page one of the President’s 1040 form, released by the White House on Friday.
A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-free savings account for people covered by a high-deductible health care plan. Routine medical expenses are paid from the HSA, and catastrophic insurance is only used in high-cost years. Passed as part of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, HSAs now cover 3 million Americans. They are the fastest-growing health insurance product on the market today.
“It’s so vital that the President lead the way on taking control of health care spending,” said Norquist. “Over the next several years, more and more Americans will be moving toward HSAs and consumer-driven health care. They can confidently say, ‘If it’s good enough for the President of the United States, it’s good enough for my family.’”
President Bush has proposed expanding HSAs to give even more Americans the ability to save in these consumer-directed accounts. He wants all Americans to be able to deduct the catastrophic health insurance premiums associated with HSAs, not just those covered by a workplace plan. He wants the poor to be able to fund HSAs more easily via the use of refundable tax credits. Finally, he wants to make HSAs more portable and flexible as people move from job to job in our dynamic and growing economy.
“HSAs are a vital part of the ownership society, and in extending prosperity and opportunity to all Americans,” continued Norquist. “President Bush realizes that the best way to get health care spending under control is to reward people for making the best use of their health care dollar. HSAs do just that, and will lead the way toward a truly state of the art health care delivery system.”