Reductions in Health Care Spending When adjusted for overestimates, the results indicate that total health care spending by workers would fall by about 4 to 6 percent after a transition is made from the indemnity plan to the MSA-catastrophic plan. The charges for these services usually exceed the deductible in a catastrophic policy and thus may not be affected by the restraints of the MSA approach. There are reasons why this 4 to 6 percent figure is not higher. Moving from one low-cost system to another is unlikely to result in much more savings. Finally, some participants might view their MSA balance as another form of insurance, not as savings, and thus might spend just as much as they would have under an indemnity plan.
Many workers stand to gain from the widespread utilization of MSAs.
After three years, the percentage of winners would only drop to 73 percent. Not everyone would benefit, however. The health and demographic characteristics of the two groups differ. The winners would tend to be younger, male, and in better health. Losers would have higher wages but also would spend more per year on health care.