February 17, 2006
JS-4056

Treasury Secretary Visits Associated Material
Handling Industries, Inc.
Company to Offer Health Savings Accounts to Employees

 Chicago, Ill. – Treasury Secretary John Snow visited Associated Material Handling Industries in Carol Stream, Illinois this morning for the company's announcement that it will be offering Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as a health-coverage option to their employees beginning this summer.

"With the addition of HSAs to your health coverage options, Associated Material Handling Industries is joining large and small employers across America who are choosing to offer this affordable option to their employees," Snow said. "I think it's a great option to have because choosing an HSA over traditional insurance plans puts patients in charge of their health-care purchasing decisions. That's why the creation of HSAs was so important – it was historic, really, because it embraces a philosophy that favors the individual, versus an employer or the government."

In remarks to company employees, Secretary Snow also detailed the President's proposals to expand Health Savings Accounts by making premium costs deductible from income and payroll taxes when purchased by individuals, raising the cap on the amount of money that can be saved in an HSA and making the high-deductible insurance plan that accompanies an HSA fully portable.

"HSAs are a good product. They're working," Snow said. "Savvy employers are offering them to their employees, and they are opening up an affordable option to small employers that might not have been able to afford health insurance otherwise. I'm thrilled that the employees of Associated Material Handling Industries, Inc. are going to have the option of HSAs soon, and I hope that in the near future all Americans have a chance to start HSAs that have all the tax benefits of traditional health insurance."