May 3, 2006
JS-4232

Statement by Secretary John W. Snow
HSAs Press Event with Representative Eric Cantor

Washington, DC – Treasury Secretary John W. Snow participated in a press event today with Representative Eric Cantor on the introduction of Cantor's bill, the Tax Free Health Savings Act of 2006.

"HSAs are a key component to making health care more affordable and accessible, while at the same putting the consumer in charge of his or her own health care decisions," Snow said. With the help of new legislation like Mr. Cantor's even more Americans will be able to take advantage of these revolutionary health-cost and savings vehicles.

"The creation of HSAs was historic because it embraces a philosophy that favors the individual, versus an employer or the government. This is different from the direction we've seen in health-care coverage for decades, and I believe it is an improvement because it does inject some market force. Consumers of health care with and HSA are going to compare costs and ask more questions about pricing.

"Today, over 3 million Americans – a large portion of whom were previously uninsured –are enjoying access to more affordable health care because of the tax advantages and savings benefits of Health Savings Account (HSA)-qualified plans.

"I'm pleased that more employers are choosing to offer HSAs to their employees every day, and I'm delighted to see Representative Cantor introduce this bill to expand the opportunities offered by HSAs. This bill would improve upon their structure, making HSAs even more useful and more likely to lower the number of uninsured Americans."