About 13.5 million U.S. residents now have health coverage that is compatible with the health savings account (HSA) program, up 18 percent from the total recorded a year ago, according to America's Health Insurance Plans.
AHIP, Washington, has reported that finding in a summary of results from a survey of U.S. health insurers.
A year ago, AHIP said the total number of HSA-eligible U.S. residents had increased 14 percent from the 2010 total.
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Congress created the HSA program in January 2004.
To qualify to contribute income to an HSA free of income taxes, a taxpayer must have coverage that meets minimum and maximum deductible requirements and maximum out-of-pocket expense requirements.
People who have HSA-compatible coverage do not necessarily open or contribute to HSAs.
Between January 2011 and January 2011, the number of large-group plan enrollees eligible to have HSAs increased 26 percent, to 7.9 million.
In the small group market, the percentage eligible for HSAs increased 9%, to 3 million.
The percentage of all HSA-eligible individuals who are enrolled in large-group plans has increased to 59 percent this year, up from 55 percent in 2011.
The percentage of all HSA-eligible individuals who have individual coverage fell to 18 percent, from 21 percent, and the percentage who are in small-group plans fell to 22 percent, from 24 percent.
In the individual market, about 2.5 million people are eligible for HSA coverage. The number of individuals eligible for HSA coverage has increased 4.8 percent in the past year, AHIP says.
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Allison Bell
Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.
