More Than 12 Million Americans Will Be Using HSAs in 2008

Based on administration budget estimates, more than 12.5 million Americans will be utilizing HSAs by 2008.

At the same time, based on initial reports from insurance companies and account managers, more than one-third of those using HSAs will have switched from no coverage to healthcare coverage.

Analysis, by Consumer Driven Market Report and HSAfinder.com indicates a strong belief in the administration that HSAs are having the desired affect on the healthcare picture.

Average Family Coverage

Surveys by Small Business Digest also indicate that smaller firms with no healthcare programs are moving rapidly to adapt HSAs for their employees.

While the assumption of two to one in per plan usage is conservative, no one as yet has a clear picture of who is being covered by HSAs. Data from two sources provided to HSAfinder.com indicates the average is closer to 3 persons per policy.

According to Washington insiders, there is a huge incentive by Bush budget officials to be very conservative about projecting the HSA tax expenditure. Some of this is political given that the Administration is also proposing a major expansion of tax expenditures for HSA tax credits, HSA deductions, and other expansions of health insurance deductions. But some of it is just plain realistic. Is anybody in the federal government willing to stand up and guarantee HSAs will grow by more than a million per year? Accounting should be cautious.