Health savings account enrollment triples in 2005

Much of the increase can be attributed to large companies that began offering HSAs to their workers.

By Amy Snow Landa, AMNews correspondent. Feb. 13, 2006.

Health savings accounts have gotten off to a faster start than many had predicted, according to a recent industry survey, which found that the number of HSA enrollees has shot up during the past year.

Preliminary findings released by America's Health Insurance Plans show that more than 3 million Americans have enrolled in HSA policies that pair the tax-free accounts with high-deductible insurance plans.

That figure is triple the number enrolled when AHIP last surveyed the HSA market in March 2005. Results then showed a little more than 1 million Americans with HSA policies.

"I think everyone is very surprised at the robustness of this number and the dramatic increase," said AHIP President Karen Ignagni, who announced the new enrollment number at a Jan. 26 press briefing. "This is a very significant success story."

AHIP has charted the market's growth since 2004, when HSAs were first made available to consumers. But the group's most recent survey is the first to reflect the effect of large employers that began offering HSA policies to their workers in 2005.

"That's why, in large measure, you have the tripling," Ignagni said.

AHIP will release a detailed breakdown of the numbers soon, but preliminary results show that HSAs also continue to attract people and small businesses who otherwise could not afford coverage, Ignagni said.

"Clearly, a number of people are purchasing and participating in this product who hadn't been able to have coverage before," she said.