I love to say "I told you so."
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New data from Assurant Health provides some insight, consistent with what we've seen in the past, on who is taking advantage of Health Savings Accounts:
Remember that HSA-opponents said that only the young, single, and well-off would use HSAs. That has not been the case:
- 73% of HSA purchasers are families with children;
- 35% of HSA purchasers are from households of four or more people;
- 57% of HSA purchasers are over age 40; and
- 40% of all HSA purchasers have high school or technical school training as their highest level of education.
And the argument that HSAs would just pull the "cream" out of other insurance options hasn't proven true, either. About 40 percent of those who have applied for Assurant's HSAs do not indicate any prior coverage.
Put simply, this consumer-driven option has done exactly what its proponents said it would: lower the cost of care by bringing consumers back into the loop for non-catastrophic care and, in turn, helping many who find traditional insurance too expensive find an alternative that fits them better.
