Consumer-Directed Health Care: Promise or Pitfall

As policymakers consider how to expand health insurance coverage, some have promoted consumer-directed approaches such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), tax-advantaged accounts for medical expenses. Do these models reduce costs and improve efficiency, or shift financial risk onto patients and discourage necessary care? Could they ever replace traditional insurance? And how might HSA policy be redesigned to broaden the benefits to more patients? This panel will examine the evidence and policy outlook for consumer-directed health care as a federal solution to expanded coverage, with a focus on affordability, access, and health outcomes.

Supported by the Charles C. Leighton, MD Memorial Fund.

Speakers

Sherry Glied, PhD

Professor, Public Service, NYU Wagner

Stephen T. Parente, PhD, MPH

Professor, Department of Finance; Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance; Associate Dean, Carlton Global Institute, University of Minnesota

David Grande, MD, MPA (moderator)

Interim Executive Director and Director of Policy, Penn LDI; Professor of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine