WAVIT, thanks for your comments. You are dead on.
The problem is health care is not free. There is always a cost involved. And in the case of the health insurance, premiums have been going up steadily by 10% per year for the last 10-15 years. That's WAY above inflation. But before we go blaming the insurance companies for greed and selfishness, we have to realized that they only make a 5-7% margin. Apple makes 50%, just to put things in perspective. A 10-15% profit margin is considered reasonable. So the health insurance companies are not at fault for the increases, and ASA/SkyWest and other companies trying to save a few bucks are also victims.
HSA plans are actually part of the solution. If you think about it, you really have no idea how much your insurance actually costs, because it is subsidized by your employer. For that matter, you have no idea how much your doctor or hospital bill actually is because 80% of it is paid by the insurance company. There is no free market in health care, because the actual consumer (us) is sheltered from the true costs by the way the system works. We shop for groceries, we shop for a new car, we shop for everything, but not for health care. Unless it's something catastrophic, no one gets a second opinion.
Imagine buying auto insurance that covers everything down to oil changes. It would cost a lot more, right? But because you and I have to reach into our own wallet to pay for maintenance, etc. companies have to compete based on price as well as quality.
HSA plans with their higher deductibles encourage people to be smart consumers. Granted, if I just broke my arm I'm not going to get on the phone and call around to see who will give me the best deal. But if it's a routine check-up, or a procedure that can be scheduled in advance, there is all the reason in the world to shop around and save some money.
In short, HSA plans, while hardly perfect, are a response to runaway health care and insurance costs that help bring those same costs under control. They are not the only solution, but they are part of it.