Monday, June 20, 2005
Ramthun: confusion over HSAs has dropped
[Sarah Lueck, "Legal Action," The Wall Street Journal, 20 June 2005.]
Despite obstacles, HSAs are growing at an incredible pace:
Insurers are quick to note that regulatory and other barriers haven't stopped HSAs from growing in popularity. Last month, an AHIP survey showed that more than one million people had signed up for HSAs as of March, compared with 438,000 in September. Many HSA plans were sold to people who were previously uninsured, or through businesses that previously didn't offer health benefits to workers.
"This is a product that is meeting a demand on the part of people who didn't have coverage," Ms. Ignagni says. "That also adds momentum to this."
More and more people apparently also are figuring out how HSAs work. "The confusion seems to be minimizing," says Roy Ramthun, a senior health adviser at the Treasury Department who recently became a health-policy adviser at the White House.
But another major challenge remains, particularly for individuals who want to set up HSAs without the help of an employer: finding a financial institution to handle the account. Insurers and government officials say smaller banks and credit unions have tended to be conservative about getting into the business. And many consumers want to deal with an institution they're already familiar with.
"That appears to be the biggest problem -- going to the bank on the corner that they go to all the time and either being met with a blank stare or finding that nobody knows what they're talking about," Mr. Ramthun says. The Treasury Department has tried to encourage more banks and credit unions to get involved in setting up HSAs. "If they're doing IRAs today, HSAs are going to be a no-brainer," Mr. Ramthun says. "We hope that through the end of the year people will have an opportunity in their backyard."
[Devon Herrick, "HSAs for state and local employees," The Pittsburg Morning-Sun, 1 May 2005.]
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