MedicareProduct10/16/08

ElectionAnalysis11/21/08

The Democratic Congress and Consumer Driven Care

William Boyles, Editor and Publisher
Consumer Driven Market Report and Health Market Survey, Washington, DC

Bill Boyles provides analysis and insights into the potential impact of the new Democratic Congress on Consumer Driven Care, including perspectives shared from various stakeholders.

The future of CDH could be on the line. A watershed in political history this month is a turning point for HRAs and HSAs - the first Democratic Congress in half a generation. Because the entire lifeline of the Consumer Driven Health Care movement has been under Republicans in Congress, speculation is rampant that a change is coming. Some view the change as a threat and others see nothing dangerous on the political horizon. The Big Question: How will the change affect HSAs?

Bill Boyles has been covering Capitol Hill for 30 years and was the first to write about consumer-driven health care and its political implications. He has followed CDH from the early days of FSAs and lobbying for MSAs in the 90s, to the arrival of HRAs and HSAs. In this session he will start with a unique background check on how CDH politics got started, then dissect what happened in November from the point of view of its impact on products and employer support.

The audio-conference will feature a new analysis of the congressional committee makeup, and make predictions about what will get passed this year. One surprising conclusion: Democrats secretly want to buy into CDH if it becomes popular, but some want to kill it entirely. The way the industry responds to criticism from Democrats is the key to survival in the next two years.