Consumer-Directed Healthcare May Result in Healthcare Savings

A new movement is afoot in the insurance industry. With healthcare costs continuing to rise, more consumers are choosing a new option for healthcare savings. Part of what is being called consumer-directed healthcare, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow people to put tax-free dollars into savings accounts set aside for routine healthcare. Insurance policies accompany these tax-free accounts to cover larger medical expenses. While HSAs were just approved in 2004, well over one million people have already enrolled. This aspect of consumer-directed healthcare seems to be effecting far-reaching change, including savings in premiums, monthly costs, prescriptions drugs and laboratory tests.