UnitedHealth Group’s DefinitySM Health and Exante Financial Services® conducted a Health Savings Account (HSA) study evaluating 25,000 individuals’ enrolled in a Definity Health HSA for at least one year.  Of those studied, the results indicate that they better understand how their benefits work and are realizing the advantages of saving early for future health care expenses.  The study also found that employers using an integrated health and financial strategy (when offering a HSA) stimulate much greater employee engagement among other detailed, positive findings.    

HSA Study Key Findings

Consumers are using the accounts as a savings tool.

• With investment fund and savings options available through Exante, UnitedHealthcare is helping consumers build savings for future health expenses.

• 86 percent of individuals carried an HSA balance into 2006.

• The average account balance was $815 at the end of 2005.

Both individuals and their employers are contributing to the accounts.

• The combined employer and employee contributions covered 65 percent of the deductible on average, minimizing a consumer’s out-of-pocket costs.

• About 70 percent of employers contribute to their employees’ HSA.
  The average employer contribution was $895.

• 67 percent of consumers added their own funding to the bank account.

• Individuals deposited an average of $1,206/year to their accounts.

Integrating the health plan and bank account increases the rate of account openings.

• According to the national average, about 60 percent of consumers in an HSA-eligible plan open the bank account.  However, among the population studied for this analysis, the account opening rate was much higher, 84 percent, because the employers used an integrated health plan and bank account model.

• The greatest single influence on the account opening rate is whether employer funding is provided – 91 percent of consumers open the account when their employer makes a contribution.

Lower income consumers show just as much interest in opening and funding their HSA,

• The motivation and ability of these consumers to open and fund their accounts is directly related to the employer’s decision to fund the account.

• 80 percent of eligible low-income individuals (earning less than $25,000/year) opened an HSA.

• 56 percent of low-income account-holders made their own contributions to the account.

• 80 percent of these individuals carried a balance into 2006, with an average balance of $761.

For More Information
Visit the Newsroom at UnitedHealthGroup.com for more detailed HSA data from this analysis, a comprehensive study summary and additional information about our consumer-driven health plans.

Press Release
Executive Summary