Over 10 Million Americans Now In CDH Accounts As More Companies Go Over The 100,000 Mark

[Washington / Interpro Publications Inc. / March 6, 2007]

Final numbers from two new national studies of CDH account enrollment show that just over 10 million Americans were enrolled in either an HSA or HRA account in January, an increase of four million in 2006. The studies have both been conducted for over two years and are not estimates or employer surveys but actual market data. Interpro combines these results into a single spreadsheet to make estimates.

Health savings accounts now hold over 6.0 million covered lives, an increase of 2.85 million in the past year, CDMR has learned. HRAs have reached 4.1 million and are growing at a rate of 1.2 million per year.

The growth in HSA accounts was right on target with estimates in June, reaching 3.6 million, according to the new Information Strategies Inc. study of HSAs based on surveys with over 300 custodians. Both ISI and America’s Health Insurance Plans found 1.1 million just a year ago. AHIP will report its latest HSA-only results in April, sources said.

Eleven companies now have over 100,000 covered lives in HRA-HSA accounts including four Blues plans: Blue Shield of California, the four-state Illinois based consortium HSC, and freestanding BCBS plans in Minnesota and Louisiana. The latest study of both HRAs and HSAs by publisher Atlantic Information Services Inc. finds the Blues as a group added well over one million in CDH accounts to hit almost 2.8 million.

United is still top dog with over 2.2 million covered lives, followed by Wellpoint with over one million enrollees in CDH accounts. Aetna and CIGNA are running neck-and neck for third place as they approach the one million member market this year, and Humana is growing steadily.

The combined enrollment of 10.1 million is slightly less than our earlier prediction of 11.5 million last Fall. This is not due to slower growth but an adjustment in the baseline assumption to account for fewer covered lives per HSA account (1.68 versus 2.2). HRA growth has been slightly slower than predicted, but HSA growth has been faster.