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HSAs 'Widely Successful,' House GOP Conference Says

MAY 5, 2005

HSAs 'Widely Successful,' House GOP Conference Says

DATED MAY 5, 2005
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Pryce, Rep. Deborah
  • Institutional Authors
    House of Representatives
    House Republican Conference
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    Doc 2005-9546
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2005 TNT 87-36

 

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), signed into law as a part of the Medicare Modernization Act, were hailed by supporters as an efficient, common sense way to help provide better, more cost-effective healthcare coverage to more workers. Just a little over a year after their enactment, HSAs have proven widely successful and the statistics about their use totally discredit common criticisms of HAS opponents.

 

Helping Lower and Middle Income Families Receive Coverage
  • More than a million people currently receive health coverage through lower-premium, high deductible health insurance plans offered in conjunction with health saving accounts -- twice as many as six months ago. (Source: AHIP)

  • According to the study, the new insurance policies eligible for health savings accounts (HSAs) now cover 1,031,000 people, up from 438,000 last September, with much of the recent growth coming from employers offering HSAs to their employees. (Source: AHIP)

  • A number of HSA providers report that roughly one-third of their purchasers earn less than $50,000 a year:

    • 30% HSA purchasers from United Health Group had incomes of $50,000 or less;

    • 40% of HSA purchasers for eHealthInsurance had incomes of $50,000 or less.

Covering Formerly Uninsured Persons
  • Opponents of HSAs claimed that such a tool would help only the wealthy and would do nothing to cover those persons who were uninsured.

  • In the last six months, 37% of the individuals who opened an HSA were previously uninsured. (Source: AHIP)

  • And 27% of the policies purchased by small businesses in the last six months were sold to employers who did not previously offer coverage to their employees. (Source: AHIP)

 

Providing Coverage for Middle Age Workers
  • Middle age men and women are often the most difficult demographic to insure -- slightly too old to be considered young and healthy, yet not old enough to qualify for Medicare coverage.

  • Shattering the myth that HSAs would only attract young and healthy individuals, the census indicates that nearly half of people covered by HSA-eligible insurance are over the age of 40. (Source: AHIP)

  • Some companies that provide HSAs report that as much as 63% of their purchasers are over the age of 40. (Source: United Health Group, Golden Rule)

Figure 2. Percentage of HSA/HDHP

 

Policies Purchased by Previously Uninsured

 

 

Individual Market

 

 

 

 

Data as of March 2005

 

 

Figure 3. Age Distribution of People Covered

 

by an HSA/HDHP Product

 

 

 

 

Data as of March 2005

 

 

Source: America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
  • Authors
    Pryce, Rep. Deborah
  • Institutional Authors
    House of Representatives
    House Republican Conference
  • Code Sections
  • Subject Area/Tax Topics
  • Jurisdictions
  • Language
    English
  • Tax Analysts Document Number
    Doc 2005-9546
  • Tax Analysts Electronic Citation
    2005 TNT 87-36
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