The number of health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) increased to 5.7 million in 2010, according to a new report from Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Assets in these account-based health plans increased to $7.7 billion in 2010.
HSAs and HRAs can be used to reimburse participants for qualified medical expenses. They are offered by some employers in order to give their workers more control over funds allocated for health care services.
Growth in these accounts is tracked by the EBRI/MGA 2010 Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey, which also examines numerous other aspects about health care consumers who use these plans, in comparison with traditional health plans. The findings are published in the January 2011 EBRI Issue Brief, "Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements: Assets, Account Balances, and Rollovers, 2006–2010."
Among other findings, the EBRI/MGA survey found no relationship between either account balance or rollover amounts and various cost-conscious behaviors such as checking prices before getting services, or asking for generic drugs instead of brand names, among other things.
"It is expected that individuals who are given more control over funds allocated for health care services will become more cost conscious, especially once they become more educated about the actual price of health services," said Paul Fronstin, director of EBRI's Health Research and Education Program and author of the report, in a statement. "However, no evidence was found to support this with respect to some of the measures used in this study of cost-conscious behavior."
Among the survey's findings:
Steady growth: The number of HSAs and HRAs grew to 5.7 million in 2010, up from 1.2 million in 2006. Assets in these accounts also increased to $7.7 billion in 2010, up from $835.4 million in 2006.
