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June 13, 2011
Health Savings Accounts Used By More U.S. Citizens
U.S. citizens are relying more on Health Savings Accounts, according to a new report from J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. Their Health Savings Account (HSA) Program Snapshot portrays usage patterns and trends.
J.P. Morgan manages more than 700,000 Health Savings Accounts with a combined total exceeding $1.1 billion. Their new report indicates that U.S. citizens are increasingly leveraging Health Savings Accounts to use pre-tax dollars for current medical expenses, as well as investing to pay for future health costs.
The 2010 report showed that the average Health Savings Account balance is $1,494 up seven percent from 2009. Average contributions were only slightly up from $1,816 in 2009 to $1,884 in 2010. Seventy-three percent of account holders contributed more than they spent per month in 2010. In 2009, that percentage was slightly lower at 68 percent.
With the average account holder age 43, they averaged spending $5 more from their Health Savings Account each month of 2010 as compared to 2009. The average annual Health Savings Account distribution was $1,377 in 2010 and $1,305 in 2009.
J.P. Morgan's Managing Director David Josephs said that: "J.P. Morgan has been administering Health Savings Accounts since their inception, and we are uniquely qualified to deliver insight into Health Savings Account account holder activity and behavior. We expect employers who are offering Health Savings Accounts for the first time, or those who already have programs in place, to use J.P. Morgan's Health Savings Account Program Snapshot as a benchmark for comparison as they review health plan options for the upcoming enrollment season."
Posted by Wiley Long at June 13, 2011 12:27 PM