HSA Plans Gain Popularity as Premium Costs Rise

The marketplace works in health care, just as it does in other sectors of the economy:

HSA Plans Gain Popularity as Premium Costs Rise

About half of all employers are expected to soon offer Health Savings Account (HSA) plans to their employees. This projection offers the best hope for restraining runaway health care costs, according to John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

"The best way to control health care costs is to put patients in control of more of their health care dollars," said Goodman. "The increasing popularity of HSAs is a result of managed care's failure."

According to a report released this week by Hewitt and Associates, a global human resources company, "account-based plans are gaining traction by employers as a way to control costs." Hewitt's research found that more than 20 percent of companies offer, or plan to offer, a high-deductible health plan with an HSA by the end of this year and almost half are considering offering one at a future date. While just 3 percent of employees elected these plans last year, most companies anticipate that enrollment will grow to 20 percent in 5 years.

This is good news for those who want to preserve high quality medical care while keeping costs down.