There seems to be a reluctance from HSA plan members about asking doctors the cost of care and also “members noted that physicians do not always know the cost of the services provided.” Other findings from the study included:
- HSA plans once offered to free consumers from provider networks, but the HSA plans included in the study now seem to use provider networks that are similar to the provider networks used by traditional plans.
- Premiums for HSA-compatible individual coverage tend to be about 30% lower than the premiums for comparable traditional coverage.
- The average adjusted gross income of the 108,000 tax filers who reported HSA contributions for 2004 was about $133,000, compared with $51,000 for all tax filers under age 65, according to IRSA data.
- In 2004, about 55% of HSA-eligible plan employees contributed to HSAs.
- When GAO researchers compared 3 employer-sponsored HSA plans, they found that only 38% of the employees who were in a plan with no employer HSA contributions put money in their HSAs. The percentage of eligible employees who contributed to their HSAs was 64% and 90% at the 2 employers that contributed to employees’
If you are participating in an HSA let us know if your experiences are along similar lines as the results of this study.
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