In talking to people “in the know” around Washington we’ve come to find out that the new Democratic government isn’t going to be going after Health Savings Accounts any time soon. Why? For one thing they are gaining popularity each and every day. For another, universal health care isn’t working.

To much fanfare from both right and left in 2006, Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to require all residents to buy health insurance. A new state health insurance clearinghouse was created, with taxpayers subsidizing those who couldn’t afford to buy coverage. Then Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, promised that “every uninsured citizen in Massachusetts will soon have affordable health insurance.” Yet just two years later, Romney’s much-heralded “solution” — touted by many as the model for a national program — has become an embarrassing flop.

Instead of making health insurance more affordable, this program has made it more expensive. The law to cover everyone has made up costing everyone an extra 56 percent, but that’s not the worst of it.

Small businesses with more than 10 employees were required to provide health insurance or pay an extra fee to subsidize uninsured low-income residents, yet the overall costs of the program increased more than $400 million — 85 percent higher than original projections. To make up the difference, payments to health care providers were slashed, so many doctors and dentists in Massachusetts began refusing to take on new patients. In the state with the highest physician/patient ratio in the nation, some people now have to wait more than a year for a simple physical exam.

This is clearly not what anyone had in mind and should be a pretty strong indicator to the Obama administration that universal health care has a long, long way to go before it ever works in this country. For now, we’ll take our HSAs.

The fees that banks charge never cease to amaze me. For instance with the bank that I use if I use another ATM to check my balance there is a fee. If I use another ATM to withdraw money, not only will I be hit with the fees from that specific ATM I will also be hit with a fee from my own bank for my audacity to use another bank’s ATM. It is crazy, but I think many people have simply accepted this as a part of life and dealt with it. Is it right? No, but what am I going to do about it?

Health Savings Accounts are another story. Many banks have begun charging fees for these accounts. These savings accounts are being hit with monthly and annual fees on top of the standard set up fee. Let’s think about this for a second. Let’s think about this for a second.

• HSAs maintain and grow their balances without a lot of withdrawls
• Banks earn interest on that money
• HSAs need little to no customer service or maintenance

There’s more too, but that’s enough. The fact is banks are LUCKY to have these accounts. They are cash cows for banks and the banks don’t appreciate it. If you currently have an HSA at a bank that is charging you a monthly or annual fee it might be time to consider transferring it. You are being nickle and dimed for an account that was created to help you. Use your HSA to build towards your future, not a banks bottom line.

There is a thinking that if John McCain wasn’t elected that Health Savings Accounts would be in trouble. This couldn’t be more wrong. If Barack Obama’s plan to force employers to offer health insurance to their employees comes into law, this could mean a huge boom for the HSA market. Why? High Deductible Health Plans are the most affordable plans out there for an employer even if they couple them with employer contributions to the HSA, they can still prove more affordable. Beyond that I don’t think that universal health care will ever pass in this country and as long as that never happens, HSAs will continue to be an excellent option for the consumer.

We’ll have more on this in the upcoming weeks as this is an issue that is not likely to go away.