2005 HSA-eligible Health Insurance Plan Costs Dropped in Sharp Contrast with Rising Overall Health Insurance Premiums

In an amazing show of consumer strength and confidence, 2005 HSA-eligible health insurance plan costs dropped in sharp contrast with rising overall health insurance premiums according to a qualified eHealthInsurance press release (below), extracted from its in-depth HSA annual report. With the plethora of healthcare ideologies and legistlation in current circulation, none seem to be registering as highly on the health insurance consumer confidence scale as health savings account plans.

Increased attention given to HSA legistlation, if Congress will ever detour from petty political squabbling and center itself on healthcare issues that seem to matter most to the American healthcare consumer, would go a long way to stemming the tide of runaway healthcare inflation and the critically rising numbers of the uninsured that are plaguing America.

Forty-one percent of HSA-eligible plan buyers in the eHealthInsurance study reported being previously uninsured. Among purchasers, the age groups that had the highest percentage of previously uninsured were children and young adults up to age 29.

Also, do you know of a health insurance plan that covers the cost of aspirin, just one of the many approved health savings account expenditures available to HSA plan holders? Just where do our traditional health insurance premium dollars go, you know, the ones that don't roll over yearly as HSA plan dollars do? Certainly not toward aspirin, cough syrup and the like. No wonder these consumer-driven health insurance plans have skyrocketted in popularity and confidence over recent years.
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Press Release: eHealthInsurance™

Individuals and families pay significantly less for HSA-eligible health insurance plans in 2005



MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 10, 2006 - Individuals paid 17 percent less for HSA-eligible health insurance plans purchased through eHealthInsurance in 2005 than consumers who bought similar plans in 2004. On average, individual consumers paid $114 in 2005 versus $138 in 2004. This is significant when compared to the near double-digit increases in health insurance premiums reported by other organizations over the past several years.[1] This and other data on HSA adoption in 2005 was released today in a semi-annual report by eHealthInsurance, the nation’s leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses.

The improved affordability of HSA-eligible plans may be the key factor leading uninsured Americans to HSAs. Forty-one percent of purchasers of HSA-eligible plans in the study reported being previously uninsured. The age groups that had the highest percentage of uninsured before purchasing an HSA-eligible plan are children and young adults up to age 29.

“Since their introduction in 2004, HSAs have been one of the fastest growing products in the consumer directed health care category, giving Americans more affordable health insurance plans and greater control of their health care dollars,” says Gary Lauer, CEO of eHealthInsurance. “Our data verifies that HSAs are attractive to individuals and families who did not previously have health insurance. It is our goal to continue to provide transparency and choice in....More