A Tax on being healthy

Though its of a more national flavor, the following article struck me as truly outrageous. This article by Sebastian Mallaby in the WaPo's Op-ed page is in opposition to the President's Health Savings Accounts. The passage that raised my ire was:

"In sum, health savings accounts are not just about ending the tax bias in favor of traditional company health plans. The administration is proposing a new kind of 401(k), and using it as an inducement to quit low-deductible insurance. Rich people, who gain most from the tax breaks on saving, will be first to sign on; healthy people, who subsidize sicker people in company health plans, will be right behind them. Their exit may force traditional health plans into a death spiral. The loss of the subsidy from healthy workers will drive premiums up, which will drive more healthy people into health savings accounts, which will drive premiums up further." (emphasis added)

And you thought taxes on income didn't make a lot of sense; apparently liberals now want to prevent the President from ending a tax on health. I wholeheartedly agree: let's penalize people for being healthy. If you exercise, eat right, don't smoke, etc. you should have to pay.