Analysis of Potential Contribution to Medical Savings Accounts Based on Out-of-Pocket Health Care Expenses in Poland

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze medical savings accounts in the context of their potential use to finance private health care expenses incurred by individuals in Poland. A medical savings account (MSA) represents a financing mechanism which relies on the accumulation of personal savings to cover the costs of health care services at the time of consumption. With the use of actuarial methods an attempt was made to estimate the amount of the MSA contribution based on the discounted value of a person’s health care expenses, age, gender, and investment variants. In the analysis, statistical data from representative household budget surveys conducted by the Central Statistical Office of Poland was used. The obtained results confirm that a medical savings account can be used to finance personal out-of-pocket health care expenses; however it requires systematic and long-term saving for health purposes. Age and gender of an MSA holder have the greatest impact on the amount of contribution, as these factors determine mortality rates and the length of the discounting period. From the individual’s perspective, MSA application requires this financing instrument to be taken into account in decisions related to the intertemporal choice between consumption and saving.