A proposal to offer the option of health savings accounts to state employees encountered strong opposition from the Department of Employee Trust Funds at the State Capitol on Thursday.
Federal law authorizes individuals to establish health savings accounts into which they and their employers can make tax-exempt contributions that can be used to pay for certain medical expenses, in exchange for a high deductible health plan. The theory behind it is that individuals who are using their own money will not spend it as freely as they do now.