Health savings accounts grow more popular, but critics skeptical

sfgate_get_fprefs();

(05-04) 04:00 PDT American Capital --

More than 6 million people are enrolled in wellness coverage programs that let them to also unfastened wellness nest egg accounts, nearly dual estimations from just two old age ago, according to new industry projections.

But critics of wellness nest egg business relationships were not impressed with the registration figures. They released a separate study last hebdomad from the Government Accountability Office that said taxpayers with wellness nest egg business relationships had an adjusted gross income averaging about $139,000 in 2005, compared with $57,000 for all other filers.

The taxation figs intend the affluent are using the business relationships as a taxation shelter rather than as a agency to assist them afford wellness insurance, said Democratic Reps. Pete Stark of John C. Fremont and Henry Waxman of Los Angeles.

Karenic Ignagni, president and main executive director military officer of the trade grouping America's Health Insurance Plans, said the GAO's Numbers showed that the typical enrollee deposited $2,100 in a wellness nest egg business relationship in 2005 and withdrew $1,000. She said those figs hardly stand for amounts that could be described as a taxation shelter for the wealthy.

Health nest egg business relationships are a relatively new merchandise pushed by the Shrub disposal as a manner to decelerate rising wellness attention costs. Workers who purchase wellness coverage programs with a high deductible tin sedimentation up to $2,900 into the business relationship taxation free, or up to $5,800 for families. Consumers can utilize the money in their business relationship to pay their medical disbursals or salvage it for future needs, including retirement.

Overall, registration in such as programs stands for 3.4 percentage of the private coverage market, said America's Health Insurance Plans, which compiled the up-to-the-minute registration projections. The association said more than than a one-fourth of new enrollees were previously uninsured.

The state with the peak per centum of high-deductible enrollees was Minnesota. About 9.2 percentage of the state's sum registration in private wellness coverage come ups through high-deductible plans. Following closely behind were Louisiana, with 9 percent, and the District of Columbia, at 8.7 percent.

Supporters of wellness nest egg business relationships state the business relationships do wellness coverage low-cost because the insurance policies that attach to them generally necessitate less monthly premiums.

But critics inquiry whether the mediocre and those with high medical disbursals can afford the up-front costs. They're concerned the programs are attracting two extremes: those who purchase the policy because it's cheaper but are not able to put in the nest egg accounts, and those who utilize the business relationships to bring forth taxation breaks.

The GAO said national studies bespeak that more than than 4 out of 10 people who purchased high-deductible plans don't unfastened a wellness nest egg account, even though they were eligible to make so. Participants said they lacked information about the accounts, they could not afford them, or they did not believe they needed them.

Waxman and Stark renewed phone calls for statute law that would necessitate enrollees in wellness nest egg business relationships to turn out that backdowns were for medical expenses.

Polls show health care a growing concern

sfgate_get_fprefs();

A new opinion poll shows concerns over rising wellness attention costs have got kept gait with other major economical concerns - 2nd lone to skyrocketing gas terms and tied with getting a occupation or raise that pays enough to cover increased life expenses.

The study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, being released today, establish that 44 percentage of the more than than 2,000 grownups interviewed April 3 to 13 ranked paying for gas as a serious problem, compared with 29 percentage for occupations and 28 percentage for wellness care.

Difficulties paying for rent or mortgage followed at 19 percent, with nutrient and recognition card or personal debt stopping point behind at 18 percent.

Health experts said the Kaiser poll, along with other surveys released this week, show that wellness attention stays in the head of Americans' concerns despite the mortgage crisis and growing overall economical woes. A Field Poll released Monday showed nearly 75 percentage of Californian electors would have got approved a wellness reform bundle brokered by Gov. Matthew Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leadership that failing in the Legislature earlier this year.

"It is surprising to see that jobs paying for wellness attention are right up there with the top wallet issues that norm Americans are facing and are much higher than some of the other jobs you'd anticipate to see at the top of the list," said John Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a wellness philanthropic gift in Menlo Park.

The opinion poll showed that wellness attention also plays a important function in life style decisions. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed said they or a member of their family either switched or stuck with a occupation because of wellness benefits. Seven percentage said that wellness attention was a factor in their or a family member's determination to get married within the past year.

A survey from the Henry Martin Robert Wood Samuel Johnson Foundation, also released today, showed that the cost of wellness coverage for the norm household in Golden State increased 34 percentage from 2001 to 2005, slightly higher than the national figure of 30 percent.

Among all states, Golden State had the 12th biggest addition in household premiums. In California, the norm household yearly insurance premium increased from $7,898 in 2001 to $10,551 in 2005. Texas, at nearly 40 percent, had the peak per centum increase, while Rhode Island's 2005 household norm of $11,924 topped the nation.

Insurance additions well outpaced wage raises. During that period, wages increased 9 percentage for households in Golden State and just 3 percentage nationwide.

"In virtually every state, you're seeing important insurance premium additions over a four-year period that are not at all beingness kept up with by household income," said Brian Quinn, programme military officer for the Henry Martin Robert Wood Samuel Johnson Foundation. The foundation, along with research workers from the University of Minnesota, released the survey as portion of the group's sixth-annual "Cover the Uninsured Week" consciousness campaign.

The study, which relied on federal information collected by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, also establish that the figure of employers offering wellness attention remained relatively steady, as did the per centum of insurance premiums employees were required to contribute. But the dollar amount paid by employees have increased as insurance premiums rise.

Finally, a Kaiser survey released Monday projected that a 1 percentage addition in U.S. unemployment would do the figure of uninsured to lift by 1.1 million. The addition would also set further loads on Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, authorities programmes known in Golden State as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families.

The survey establish that addition would add $3.4 billion to the cost of Medicaid and the children's wellness program, including $1.4 billion in state spending. Health attention 34%

Health coverage insurance premiums for the norm Golden State household increased 34 percentage from 2001 to 2005, while average earned income rose only 9 percent. x10

Nationally, the norm cost of household insurance increased 10 modern times faster than income. 1.1 mil.

A new survey shows a 1 percentage rise in the nation's unemployment charge per unit would increase the uninsured by 1.1 million. 23%

Health attention stays a top concern for Americans, according to a new poll, with 23 percentage saying they decided to switch over occupations or stay in a occupation owed to wellness care.

Sources: Henry Martin Robert Wood Samuel Johnson Foundation and Kaiser Family Foundation