McKinsey Report : HSAs could be the way forward.

A report by management consultants McKinsey has cited health savings accounts as a possible solution to escalating healthcare costs which are making healthcare benefits less and less affordable for employees alike. Against a backdrop of several consecutive years of double-digit premium increases the report says that " a remedy might be emerging in the form of consumer-driven health plans." These plans echo the qualities of self-insurance in that the individual is given an insurable interest through a high-deductible policy coupled with a tax-exempt health savings account (HSA). By making health insurance plans consistent with efficient markets through transparency and being more consumer-driven "Medical Providers...will be increasingly pressured to improve the quality of care and service they offer to consumers while maintaining competitive prices." According to McKinsey "Early results suggest that these plans could slow the rise in costs by lowering demand and prompt hospitals and other medical professionals to improve the quality of care".