Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments April 1, 2022 erstellt
Description:
Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) have been controversially debated as an alternative healthcare financing mechanism since the 1970s. Only a few countries adopted MSAs (to different extents) within their healthcare system, e.g. Singapore, China, South Africa, and the US. Proponents argue that MSAs increase consumer choice, provide financial protection, reduce the total healthcare expenditure while increasing efficiency and prevent problems inherent to health insurance, e.g. moral hazard and adverse selection. In this article, we critically examine each argument by studying countries with MSAs and reviewing scientific literature. This uncovers the inherent structural and methodological problems of MSAs which ultimately increase inequity and inequality, under certain circumstances improve efficiency, and do not offer sufficient financial protection