Medical Savings Accounts: Results From Surveys of Insurers (Letter
Report, 12/31/98, GAO/HEHS-99-34).

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
established a demonstration of medical savings accounts and directed GAO
to contract for a study of them. GAO issued an interim report last year.
(See GAO/HEHS-98-57, Dec. 1997.) This is the final report of the study.
GAO originally planned to survey medical savings account enrollees and
employers to obtain a consumer perspective and to survey insurers and
financial institutions to obtain a supplier perspective. GAO
competitively awarded four contracts to companies with experience in
health economics, health insurance, and actuarial science and chose
Westat and its partners to design an enrollee survey and to complete a
study of insurers' responses to medical savings accounts. However, the
relatively low enrollment in medical savings accounts made it impossible
to conduct useful surveys of enrollees, employers, or financial
institutions at a reasonable cost. Consequently, GAO did not initiate
them. The information obtained for this study comes only from insurers,
limiting the extent to which the evaluation can address the issues in
the mandate.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  HEHS-99-34
     TITLE:  Medical Savings Accounts: Results From Surveys of Insurers
      DATE:  12/31/98
   SUBJECT:  Employee medical benefits
             Surveys
             Health care services
             Health insurance
             Health insurance cost control
             Insurance premiums

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to Congressional Committees

December 1998

MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS - RESULTS
FROM SURVEYS OF INSURERS

GAO/HEHS-99-34

MSA Insurer Surveys

(101737)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
  Medical Savings Accounts

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-281613

December 31, 1998

The Honorable William V.  Roth, Jr.
Chairman
The Honorable Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Finance
United States Senate

The Honorable Bill Archer
Chairman
The Honorable Charles B.  Rangel
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Ways and Means
House of Representatives

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA) established a demonstration of Medical Savings Accounts (MSA)
and directed GAO to contract for a study of MSAs.  We issued an
interim report last year.\1

This is the final report of the study. 

HIPAA required the study to address the effects of MSAs on

  -- selection, including adverse selection;

  -- health costs, including any impact on premiums of individuals
     with comprehensive coverage;

  -- use of preventive care;

  -- consumer choice;

  -- the scope of coverage of high-deductible plans purchased in
     conjunction with such accounts; and

  -- other relevant items. 

Our original evaluation design called for conducting surveys of MSA
enrollees and employers to obtain a consumer perspective on MSAs, and
surveys of insurers and financial institutions to obtain the
perspective of suppliers.  We competitively awarded four contracts to
companies with experience in health economics, health insurance, and
actuarial science and selected Westat and its partners to design an
enrollee survey and to complete a study of insurers' responses to
MSAs.  However, the relatively low enrollment in MSAs made it
impossible to conduct useful surveys of enrollees, employers, or
financial institutions at a reasonable cost.  Consequently, as agreed
with your offices, we did not initiate them.  The information
obtained for this study comes only from insurers, limiting the extent
to which the evaluation can address the issues in the mandate. 


--------------------
\1 Medical Savings Accounts:  Findings From Insurer Survey
(GAO/HEHS-98-57, Dec.  19, 1997). 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :0.1

We will make copies of this report available to other interested
parties on request. 

Please contact me on (202) 512-6806 or William J.  Scanlon, Director,
Health Financing and Systems Issues, at (202) 512-7114 if you or your
staff have any questions. 

Richard L.  Hembra
Assistant Comptroller General




(See figure in printed edition.)Appendix
WESTAT REPORT ON SURVEYS OF
INSURERS
============================================================== Letter 



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