Trend: Insurers, banks creating more HSAs as industry grows

The money coming from the "health/wealth" market is expected to increase over the coming years: Some experts predict the market could reach $40 billion in the next five years. That's not surprising, as it appears consumers are getting used to transferring money into these accounts regularly. In fact, as of the first quarter of 2008, consumers transferred an average $2,674 into their investment accounts, but spent only $1,216 on average, according to Canopy Financial. That certainly leaves plenty for banks to invest for their purposes.

Given these numbers, it's little surprise that the biggest health plans are not hesitating to at least dip their hands into programs like HSAs and health debit cards. Experts predict that over 10 percent of that $40 billion could go to companies that help consumers manage their HSAs, so insurers are maneuvering to be those companies.

It's not just banks who are getting involved, either. As we've reported before here at FierceHealthFinance, major health insurers like WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, and BCBS already have HSA programs, but experts predict that other insurers will jump into the banking industry before long to get their share of the cash.

To learn more about  this trend:
- read this AMNews piece
- read this Canopy Financial report (.pdf)

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