The false promise and limitations of pre-tax health accounts

Allowing employers to provide tax-free reimbursement for health-care expenditures, as a new proposed rule from the Department of Labor promises to do, could go a long way to improving access to affordable health insurance for people employed in small businesses.

However, it will not save the U.S. individual health insurance market or revolutionize consumer-driven health care. Just as money in your pocket won’t help you prepare for a hurricane if the store shelves are empty, this savings scheme will be dependent on supplier actions.

Health plans will need to stock those market shelves with products people value and trust: affordable and comprehensive coverage. Or the newly reimagined Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) will leave individuals much like the last-minute hurricane preparer: without good options.

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/413503-the-false-promise-of-choice-and-the-limitations-of-health-reimbursement