HSA enrollment growth slows but is still high

New industry numbers show more than a quarter of people with the accounts were previously uninsured. But an article questions the products' value for women.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. May 14, 2007.

Washington -- More than 4.5 million people have enrolled in insurance plans offered with health savings accounts as of January, an increase of 1.3 million over the previous year.

The estimate comes from the third census of insurance companies by America's Health Insurance Plans. The survey included 87 responses, or about 95% of the firms offering such plans, said AHIP Senior Vice President Mike Tuffin. The report does not include enrollment under health reimbursement arrangements, a different kind of tax-advantaged account.

The results counter arguments that HSAs, which allow tax deductible contributions for health spending, attract only the young, healthy, wealthy or already insured. About 46% of the 1.1 million individual market enrollees were 40 years or older, AHIP found. Also, 27% of the enrollees were previously uninsured.

"So it's clear that HSA plans are helping people access coverage for the first time," Tuffin said. Numbers were not available for the group market.

Although HSA-qualified plan enrollment grew by 43%, it didn't expand as quickly as it did between January 2005 and January 2006, when membership climbed by 2.2 million, or 220%. "Nothing is going to grow at 200% forever," Tuffin said.