Inside Consumer Directed care released there semiannual report on Health Savings Accounts and they have continued to grow at an exponential rate.
Since the products became available in 2004, consumers have opened 2.9 million health savings accounts and have collectively banked more than $3.9 billion, according to ICDC’s semiannual report on HSAs. The average account balance, however, remained virtually unchanged at $1,348 - up just $7 since January. A year ago, financial firms said they collectively held more than $2.33 billion in 1.76 million accounts. By Jan. 1, 2008, assets had grown to $3.2 billion in 2.2 million accounts. The report is based on data from more than 40 financial firms that regularly provide ICDC with account figures. Also included in the estimate are data gathered from another 40 firms for AIS’s’ 2007 HSA Directory and Resource Guide. A similar report on credit unions will be included in an upcoming issue of ICDC.
And they only look to grow more.
The rocky economy, combined with increasing health coverage costs, will add to the appeal of HSA-qualified plans, says Sterling HSA CEO Cora Tellez. Bill West, president of First HSA, Inc., agrees and says he expects steady growth in the year ahead. “Four-dollar-a-gallon gas and higher insurance premiums are making many people look at [HSA-qualified] plans, he says. However, many are still afraid to make the leap unless there is a financial incentive or and they have no other choice,” he asserts. West adds that more midsized employers are shifting to full-replacement HSA plans. John Sweeney, spokesperson for Draper, Utah-based HealthEquity, Inc. predicts account volume will “at least double” over the next year.
Tags: ICDC
Tags: ICDC
