Despite High Costs, HSAs See Increase in Enrollment

A recent survey by ConnectYourCare found that Health Savings Accounts (HSA)s are seeing a spike in consumer enrollment, citing hopes that it will assist any future medical costs as a reason for the surge.

The “Consumer-Driven Health Plan Enrollment & Usage Trends Survey” reported that more than 40% of those enrolled in an HSAs plan to use it as a savings mechanism for impending medical needs. Twenty-one percent of survey respondents selected “tax savings” as their reason, and only 9.5% chose “lower premiums” given by High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), according to the survey. Furthermore, the survey reported than when asked what the primary retirement-related concern was, 63% of respondents elected health care payments, including insurance premiums and prescriptions.

Respondents also noted that additional IRS requirements with Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA)s is a reason as to why most participants will lean more towards HSAs, even though both hold similar benefits. When asked, almost half of respondents stated that lessening the amount of required documentation to submit would be the top change they would like to see, according to the survey.

In addition to surveying over 14,000 workers, ConnectYourCare also conducted an employer survey with nearly 250 managers. Survey questions included rating the importance of factors when weighing health accounts, with 85% of employer respondents ranking “employee customer service” as very important, 81% choosing “overall employee experience,” and 66% selecting the price of benefits solution.

The ConnectYourCare survey also found that employees continue to lack awareness regarding financial tax benefits, with 47% stating their employees rejected enrolling in tax-advantaged accounts—including HSAs and FSAs—due to unfamiliarity with these benefits.

“The results from our survey indicate that while progress is being made – and consumers are beginning to take advantage of tax-favored benefit accounts – many are still simply unaware of all the benefits offered through these products,” said Barbara Boudreau, Vice President of Strategy at ConnectYourCare.

More on the survey can be found here.