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October 25, 2009
Health Savings Accounts Continue Expansion
As the healthcare debate in country continues on, there are many banks that are finding their Health Savings Accounts are exploding.
Health Savings Accounts, which are designed to allow saving for medical and retiree health expenses, are savings accounts set up through banks. Proponents say they allow more flexibility in how workers use their health care funds, while critics say the accounts favor healthier and younger people.
At Dubuque Bank & Trust, senior vice president Doug Stillings says Health Savings Accounts are particularly attractive to small businesses.
They are finding Health Savings Accounts are beneficial for smaller businesses, where increasing health care costs are particularly burdensome. He contends that Health Savings Accounts are more open-ended for employees as well.
"Health Savings Accounts give the employee much more flexibility in what they do with their health care money," Stillings said.
Users can access their Health Savings Account with debit cards and then save receipts to show they are for health care related expenses. There's no "use it or lose it" provision, so contributions carry over from year to year.
Dubuque Bank & Trust has offered Health Savings Accounts for three to four years, and Stillings said they have been growing in popularity among business owners.
At Great River Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, about half of the employees now have Health Savings Accounts along with HSA insurance plans that are required to open a Health Savings Account.
"Health Savings Accounts allow a lot of flexibility for a healthy group or healthy individual," said Robin Zenz, office manager.
Zenz said the office has about 35 employees and the Health Savings Accounts have been implemented for about three years. An increasing number of employees have been signing up for the HSA Plans.
Stillings said he hasn't had any negative feedback on the program, but he admitted that Health Savings Accounts are not meant for everyone.
An article by the staff at Mayo Clinic on the health care provider's Web site said negative aspects of Health Savings Accounts are that older and sicker people pay more, they don't allow for the difficulty in budgeting for unpredictable illnesses and that the pressure to save money in Health Savings Accounts might keep people from seeking preventative treatment.
Stillings said he didn't want to predict whether proposed health care reform could change the amount of interest in Health Savings Accounts.
"There are so many unknowns in the health care world right now," he said. "If we continue with the type of structure we currently have, Health Savings Accounts will continue to gain popularity."
Posted by Wiley Long at October 25, 2009 10:40 AM