Likely voters across the nation overwhelmingly (80%) want employers to have the option of offering their employees Medical Savings Accounts, according to a new Zogby America survey. Favorability is even higher among Catholics and Protestants, at 84%. The percent of Hispanics favoring MSAs is nearly unanimous, at 97%. Only 10% disagreed overall.
Further, three of four voters (74%) throughout the nation want the option to purchase medical savings accounts themselves. The survey of 1003 likely voters nationwide was conducted January 4th through January 6th by Zogby International. It was commissioned by the Washington-based Archer MSA Coalition and has an error margin of +/- 3.2% overall. Error margins are higher for subgroups.
Respondents strongly agreed (60%) and somewhat agreed (20%) with the question, "do you agree or disagree that all employers should have the option of offering their employees a medical savings account if they want?"
When asked "do you agree or disagree that all Americans should have the option of choosing to purchase a medical savings account?" 51% strongly agreed and 23% somewhat agreed (74%). 15% were not sure. A Medical Savings Account is an IRA-like bank account that is used to pay for medical care. Unspent money continues to build tax free for future medical expenses or retirement. Currently, MSAs can be established only by self-employed individuals and employer groups of 50 or less, and are not available to the rest of Americans.
Released: January 14, 2003