UBA: Health Account Plan Savings Not So Great

The cost of employer-sponsored health plans that incorporate a personal account may be rising about as fast as the cost of other types of plans.

United Benefit Advisors, Indianapolis, a group for independent benefits firms, has published that finding in a summary of results from a survey of 10,744 U.S. employers that sponsor about 16,421 health plans.

Health account plans now account for 23% of the plans the employers offer and about 17% of the employees in the plans, UBA reports.

Health maintenance organizations (HMO), in contrast, now enroll only about 12% of the covered employees.

But the average cost increase for all health account plan renewals was 8%, and just slightly below the 8.2% average for all plans, UBA says.

Health account plans typically come with a health savings account or a health reimbursement arrangement (HSA).

The average employer HRA contribution increased to $1,656 this year, from $1,481 in 2010.