HSAs 'Widely Successful,' House GOP Conference Says
HSAs 'Widely Successful,' House GOP Conference Says
- AuthorsPryce, Rep. Deborah
- Institutional AuthorsHouse of RepresentativesHouse Republican Conference
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2005-9546
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2005 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.
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)
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)
- AuthorsPryce, Rep. Deborah
- Institutional AuthorsHouse of RepresentativesHouse Republican Conference
- Code Sections
- Subject Area/Tax Topics
- Jurisdictions
- LanguageEnglish
- Tax Analysts Document NumberDoc 2005-9546
- Tax Analysts Electronic Citation2005 TNT 87-36