TLDR: Most consumers, and even account holders specifically, do not fully understand HSAs, flexible savings accounts, and health reimbursement accounts.
Recently we’ve seen several reports showing how the use of health savings accounts (HSAs) and other account-based health plans has surged as employers and their workers seek to mitigate exposure to rising healthcare costs. As popular as such tools may have become, a new Alegeus Technology survey found that many consumers, and even account holders, don’t fully understand them. Specifically, Alegeus asked HSA holders to take a nine question T/F quiz which included questions like “Contributions that I make to an HSA are tax-free,” and “My employer owns my HSA.” Seven in 10 account holders were unable to pass the simple test and 50 percent were able to pass a similar quiz on flexible savings accounts (FSAs). Benefits Pro expands, “Research continues to show the growing popularity for HSAs. This week America’s Health Insurance Plans said that health plans that include health savings accounts continue to rise in popularity — experiencing double-digit growth over last year. But industry insiders say those numbers would be far greater with more understanding and awareness of the accounts. Particularly for HSAs, researchers said, lack of understanding of the full account value proposition may be hindering adoption — as more than 40 percent still view HSAs as spending accounts, “exhibiting a lack of understanding of the ability to save beyond the plan year or invest HSA funds.” The survey results “point to a significant consumer education gap and a need for enhanced decision-support resources to help consumers better manage their ever-growing responsibility for health care purchase and funding,” according to the news release from Alegeus. The survey also found that employers are falling short on benefits education, as 65 percent communicate about health benefit enrollment only during open the enrollment period, while nearly 60 percent rely only on plan summary documents and enrollment forms to communicate benefit plan/account options. Still, employers aren’t realizing this: In their assessment of the quality of various aspects of employer benefit communications (including clarity, depth, format, personalization and frequency), consumer ratings were consistently 20 percent lower than employer ratings…”
