Medical savings accounts (MSAs) allow enrolees to withdraw money from earmarked funds to pay for health care. The accounts are usually accompanied by out-of-pocket payments and a high-deductible insurance plan. This article reviews the association of MSAs with efficiency, equity, and financial protection. We draw on evidence from four countries where MSAs play a significant role in the financing of health care: China, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States of America. The available evidence suggests that MSA schemes have generally been inefficient and inequitable and have not provided adequate financial protection. The impact of these schemes on long-term health-care costs is unclear. Policymakers and others proposing the expansion of MSAs should make explicit what they seek to achieve given the shortcomings of the accounts.

CuTCNQ (TCNQ=7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane) is a resistive switching charge-transfer complex which can be used for organic nonvolatile memories. In this contribution we report on a thorough investigation of the electrical switching of CuTCNQ memories. Our memories currently achieve an endurance of up to 10000 write/erase cycles with a clear distinction between ON and OFF reading currents. ON and OFF threshold voltages follow a Gaussian distribution. Temperature dependent measurements of CuTCNQ based organic memories show a semiconductor like behavior for the ON state. The retention time of the ON state exceeded 60 hours at room temperature. Electrical switching of CuTCNQ memories in air was virtually not affected by temperatures up to 80°C, but becomes erratic at 120°C. The CuTCNQ material itself already starts to decompose around 200°C in presence of oxygen as shown by thermogravimetric analysis.