The HSA honeymoon phase is long over. Even the most enthusiastic of initial supporters—the ones who thought they, coupled with high-deductible health plans, would encourage patient responsibility and subsequently cure our national health care ills—can’t find too much to be excited about these days.

And HSA critics are taking ever tougher stances. According to the Wall Street Journal, Democratic presidential candidate (and current governor of New Mexico) Bill Richardson would abolish them altogether if he got the opportunity.

“These are a step backward,” he said at a Kaiser Family Foundation forum yesterday. “They put working families at risk. Most families cannot afford to pay the … out of pocket costs.”

While other Democratic candidates have not, to my knowledge, come out in favor of an outright ban, HSAs don’t figure prominently in any of their proposed health care fixes.

So is this the beginning of the end? Can HSAs ever live up to their promise?