By Shapleigh S.C.R. No. 19 77R2986 MKS-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, Individuals who are not covered by employer-provided 1-2 health insurance often face the daunting prospect of having to 1-3 purchase costly private health insurance, which typically entails 1-4 either high monthly premiums or relatively high deductibles at more 1-5 affordable monthly rates, or else to forgo health insurance 1-6 altogether; those who purchase private insurance are further 1-7 penalized since individual policies are not tax-deductible, adding 1-8 to their already burdensome health care costs; and 1-9 WHEREAS, For such individuals, medical savings accounts 1-10 (MSAs) offer an innovative alternative to high-premium insurance 1-11 policies by combining tax-free savings accounts and high-deductible 1-12 catastrophic health insurance policies; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Individuals choosing to use these accounts pay for 1-14 routine and minor medical services with funds set aside in a 1-15 tax-free savings account, while major health care costs are covered 1-16 by their health insurance policies; and 1-17 WHEREAS, In addition to making health insurance more 1-18 affordable for persons who otherwise would be uninsured or 1-19 underinsured, tax-free MSAs encourage individuals to make wise and 1-20 economical decisions when making choices about their health care, 1-21 since self-insured individuals often are made more aware of the 1-22 true cost of health care than those covered by employment-based 1-23 plans; MSAs also offer greater access and freedom to obtain medical 1-24 services; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Despite lower than expected participation rates to 2-2 date, the MSA program has significant potential; preliminary 2-3 research from a 1996 demonstration program shows that 40 percent of 2-4 the people purchasing the plan were previously uninsured, 2-5 suggesting that, as the program continues to gain popularity, it 2-6 may be an effective way to reduce the number of uninsured; and 2-7 WHEREAS, The MSA pilot program was scheduled to end December 2-8 31, 2000, but certain aspects of the program evaluation indicate 2-9 that it may be important not only to renew but to expand the 2-10 program; research indicates that restrictions placed on the pilot 2-11 program may have suppressed full response and created confusion 2-12 among potential applicants, insurance companies, and employers; and 2-13 WHEREAS, Removing existing barriers in MSA legislation would 2-14 encourage greater participation among consumers and insurance 2-15 companies, and eliminating financial limits in the program would 2-16 encourage additional coverage in areas such as mental health 2-17 services and prescription drugs; and 2-18 WHEREAS, Most importantly, continuing and expanding the use 2-19 of MSAs will make quality health care affordable to people at all 2-20 economic levels with varying needs of health care; now, therefore, 2-21 be it 2-22 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-23 hereby respectfully request the Congress of the United States to 2-24 renew and expand the medical savings account program and remove 2-25 program limitations to encourage greater use of such accounts; and, 2-26 be it further 2-27 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 3-1 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 3-2 the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of 3-3 the senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 3-4 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this 3-5 resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a 3-6 memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.