The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined the increase in availability and use of health savings accounts -- tax-free accounts that can be used to pay for medical expenses when combined with a high-deductible health plan (Story, Wall Street Journal, 9/9). HSAs, as called for under the new Medicare law, are available to people who purchase a health plan with a deductible higher than $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/26). People can obtain a high-deductible health plan by enrolling through an employer or purchasing one on their own. HSAs are available through health plans and independent companies (Wall Street Journal, 9/9). Employees, employers or both can contribute to the accounts as much as a combined $2,600 for individuals and $5,150 for families each year (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 7/26).

Numbers
According to the Journal, "tens of thousands of new accounts have been opened," and more are expected to be opened as other insurance and financial services companies offer them. By 2005, HSAs are "expected to become a standard product of many health insurers and large financial services firms," the Journal reports. Twenty financial institutions currently are marketing the new accounts, and about 50 insurance companies have introduced a high-deductible health plan. Further, many employers are offering HSAs to workers. A recent Mercer Human Resources study noted that 81% of employers with 20,000 or more workers were either "somewhat" or "very" likely to offer HSAs by 2006 (Wall Street Journal, 9/9).