Workers unfamiliar with health accounts

Risk & Insurance, March, 2005

Most U.S. workers have neither heard of health savings accounts nor understand how they work, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. After receiving an explanation of health services accounts, a majority of individuals liked features such as control of funds and lower premiums, but disliked the risk of higher prescription drug payments and deductibles.

A survey of nearly 1,000 individuals with health insurance found that 29 percent had heard of health savings accounts, 61 percent had not, and 10 percent were unsure. Health savings accounts allow workers to contribute pretax dollars to an account to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses.